


About Those Nights

by EllieBear



Category: Veronica Mars (Movie 2014), Veronica Mars (TV), Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: Happy Birthday MMB, Hot Sex, Lilly Lives, Mutual Pining, One Night Stand, Soulmates, TW: Discussion of Child Abuse, UST, You heard me, because we all know the Donut knows nothing, but it's a survivable amount, but they are soulmate none the less so go with it, except for Duncan, good catholic girl issues, i'll stop now, no they don't have marks, there's a bit of angst, this is a soulmates fic damn it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:08:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26483161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllieBear/pseuds/EllieBear
Summary: Logan allows a one night stand to stay for the weekend. When she leaves in the middle of the night, before he can say goodbye, he begins his quest to find her.  Too bad she turns up in the last place he would expect. An urban fairytale with a happy ending.
Relationships: Logan Echolls/Veronica Mars
Comments: 280
Kudos: 204





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Marshmellow Bobcat (MellowBobcat)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MellowBobcat/gifts).



> A very happy birthday present to MarshmallowBobcat!!! You get one chapter a day until this little fic is done. Hope you enjoy the ride.
> 
> Special thanks to Irma66 for her beta skills, MrsKissyT for coming up with the title for this fic, and AlinaS for the amazingly beautiful cover art that made me actually change a scene just to have this image in it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very happy birthday to yoooouuuuuuu MMB!!! Here is your "surprise" fic present. I'll be posting one chapter a day for the next eight days until it is complete. My "little" fic ended up being 22K words and eight chapters. Oops. Hope you enjoy the ride I'm about to take you on.
> 
> Special thanks to my Beta extraordinaire Irma66 not only for her skills with this fic, but also her singular knowledge of insurance claims processes in the USA. lol
> 
> Cover art for this fic by the amazing and talented VeronicaMarsFanArt (Alina Sorokina)!!

“Maybe you’ll meet someone new?”

“I don’t want to meet someone new,” Logan muttered as he delicately folded his black cashmere sweater and placed it with the others in his suitcase at the foot of his king-sized bed. “I want to meet _her_. Again.”

“Well, you just put it out to the universe for the millionth time,” Wallace chuckled from his position at the other end of the bed, leaning against the heavy leather-tufted headboard. He crossed his ankles as he stretched and placed his hands behind his head. “Maybe this time you’ll find her. I mean, you’ve looked all over New York, maybe you have to spread out your search?”

Logan scratched his beard, frowning at the contents of his suitcase. He didn’t want to go back to Neptune, but his mother insisted. 

_"You need to come to the engagement party. Reconnect with Duncan. Meet his fiancee. Maybe she has a friend..._ ” 

Lynn had pushed him a month ago to book the flight when he was in the depths of his self-induced despair and he stupidly agreed. He didn’t want to see his old friend, mainly because when Logan left Neptune for NYU after graduation twelve years ago, he also left behind Duncan’s vivacious sister, Lilly, still clutching a part of his barely-beating heart in her perfectly pink-manicured grasp. His therapist once told him he had a thing for emotionally unavailable women. Maybe that’s why after his disastrous high-school relationship with Lilly, combined with the tabloid-splashed divorce of his parents when he was eight years old, that he’d decided to stay single for the rest of his life. And he did reach the ripe old age of thirty before that thought changed.

“I’m not going to meet the love of my life back in my hometown. It’s not that big a city. Trust me, if she lived there, I would have met her when I was a teenager.” Running his fingers through his unkempt dark hair, Logan shook his head. “I just have to forget about her, that’s all.”

Wallace let out a snort of disbelief. “My friend, you’ve been talking about your Mystery Girl for almost a year now. A year! Do you know how sick I am of hearing about her?”

“Yeah, well, it’s not every day you meet your soulmate and have her leave while you’re still asleep.”

“I think that’s called ‘karma’ for all the women you did that to over the years, friend.”

“You may have a point with that, but none of those women were my soulmate. This one was.”

Wallace’s sharp laugh echoed in the room.“You’re delusional. Your soulmate isn’t a one-night-stand. That’s not how shit works.”

“What if it does work that way for me? I mean, you and Jackie met on a set when she was your make-up artist. Shit happens like this all the time.”

“Hey, you leave Jackie out of this; we met in a perfectly normal way. We worked together. What you have going on is real Nora Ephron movie-like bullshit in your head.” Wallace dropped his voice slightly to his action-movie-star huskiness and chuckled. “Two people meet at a classy bar, decide to spend an entire weekend having anonymous sex and then end up getting married and living happily ever after? I don’t think so.” His voice changed to its proper register as he laughed. “But I am guessing that the play you’ve been feverishly working on lately probably has some vague references to her peppered throughout, am I right?”

Pursing his lips, Logan turned away from the suitcase and crossed the room, disappearing into his walk-in closet to hide from the truth for a second. This was why actors and writers should never be friends; actors had a way of dissecting the motivations of everyone around them, and playwrights used everything as fodder for their work. Sometimes he rued the day they were matched in college—Logan to write a five-minute monologue and Wallace to perform it. They had been best friends/pains in the ass to each other ever since.

His eyes darted to the top of the dresser. It had become a reflex by now. There, sitting on a small silver plate, was the gold necklace she accidentally left behind. The delicate chain held a simple gold cross with a diamond in the center. When his cleaning lady found it under a bedside table a few weeks after she left, it took Logan a second to register where it came from. And just like that, it all came flooding back to him. Problem was, every time he looked at it, he would remember it again too.

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_“Can you help me take this off?” She stood naked in the doorway to the bathroom and spun around, lifting her long blond hair up away from her back. “I don’t want to go in the shower with it on.”_

_Sliding from bed, he crossed the room, marvelling at the soft ripples of muscle across her back, her beautiful soft pink buttocks, the toned steadiness of her legs. He wanted to wrap his arms around her nakedness and pull her back into bed, but instead, he chose to do her bidding, his hands shaking ever so slightly as he reached for the delicate clasp. Gently, he released the necklace and pulled it up and around her, balling it in his palm as she dropped her hair and stepped away._

_“I’ll keep it safe while you shower.” He chuckled and stepped away, walking over to the side table and placing it gently on top near the base of the silver reading lamp._

_“Oh, well, I was kind of hoping you were going to join me.”_

_Glancing over her shoulder, she covered her breasts with her arms and arched her eyebrow at him, playfully trying to make it seem like she had something to hide, even though they had spent the last eight hours having unbridled, passionate sex._

_He pivoted back towards her, a grin spreading across his face._

_"Well, if you insist…."_

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Giving his head a shake, Logan turned his back on the trinket, pushing his thoughts back to packing.

"You're pathetic." Wallace leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms. “I often wonder what happened to the loveable lothario who was my best friend."

Logan grabbed another sweater from the neatly stacked pile in a cubbie, tossing it over his arm. It had been nearly a decade since he had been home and as he prepared to pack, he made mental note that California was cold in February, but not as cold as the Bronx when a good winter weather system ripped through the borough. More Armani wool coat than goose-down parka.

“Maybe I don’t want to be the _loveable lothario_ anymore,” Logan muttered, brushing past Wallace on his way back to his suitcase. “Maybe I didn’t really want to be _him_ in the first place.”

“That’s deep, man. How much did you pay your therapist to unlock that little tidbit?”

“A lot.” 

Laying the outfit on the bed, Logan frowned, considering whether to add a white t-shirt underneath or a white linen shirt. The engagement party itself would require him to wear his tux, but he was sure his mother would drag him to several less formal get-togethers while he was in town. His favourite outfit of khakis and a henley would not cut it, unless he barricaded himself in the pool house to write.

“Then why not try and settle down with someone new? You spent one lost weekend with some woman whose last name you didn’t even bother to ask and suddenly, you’re in love. Or obsessed, I’m not quite sure which one it is.”

“You weren’t there. You don’t know—” Swiveling, Logan walked quickly back to the closet, letting his shoulder brush Wallace’s shoulder in a way that he hoped would cause his friend to back off.

Wallace just laughed and moved out of the doorway, still watching Logan as he headed towards his drawers. Opening the top one, he grabbed several pairs of dark socks to go with his chosen pants. His eyes fell once more to the necklace. He reached out, his hand hovering for a split second over it before he snatched it up, shoving it quickly into his pocket before Wallace could see what it was.

“You’re right. I don’t know. All I know is that you’ve been pining over this Veronica-no-last-name woman for far too long. I say this to you as your friend—go home to Neptune, get laid by one or more beautiful California girls, then come back and move on.” 

Pausing, Logan caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror above the dresser. Just the sound of her name being said sent shivers down his back.

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_“Tell me more about you.”_

_“No,” she giggled. “We agreed.”_

_“But you get to see my home, my life…” Logan’s fingers traced down her spine as she lay on her stomach in the middle of his bed, drying from their shower in the warm light of an afternoon sunbeam streaming through his window._

_“My life is dull. It’s boring,” Veronica mused, her skin turning to goosebumps as his fingers reached her buttocks and retreated. “You are not.”_

_“How could someone as beautiful as you have a boring life?”_

_“Okay. Fine. You got me. I work for the CIA. Now I have to kill you.” Her laugh was husky, like an exaggerated character in a bad play._

_“I can think of a few fun ways you could attempt to suffocate me….”_

_With that, Logan slid closer to her, their lips connecting again, hungry for more of whatever she was willing to give him._

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Every memory from that weekend twisted his heart tighter and tighter until it felt like he couldn’t breathe. He had made mistakes in his life, but none of them ever tortured him like the mistake he made letting this woman go. But he had to. That was the deal. And he regretted it every minute since.

“Fine. Maybe you’re right. Maybe I am a pathetic wretch of a human.” 

He walked back to the suitcase for the final time. Pulling out his travel kit, he unzipped the black leather case. Fishing the necklace out of his pocket, he dropped it into the case, immediately losing sight of it amongst the random contents. 

Turning back to his companion, Logan let out an exhausted sigh. “Look, I never told you this, but I may have told her that I loved her that night…”

“Oh my God.” Wallace hid his face in his hands. “You’re killing me.”

“...but I didn’t think she heard me! She was asleep! But when I woke up, she was gone and I realized she must have heard. That’s why I have to find her and explain...”

“Explain what? That you’re not as crazy as you sound?”

“That I did feel something but I couldn’t properly express it. I scared her off and I know it, but I still want a chance to prove to her that we could work. That’s all! Just one more time to apologize.”

Shaking his head, Wallace signed. “And that’s gonna prove you’re not pathetic?”

“No. But it may prove I’m worth a chance.”


	2. Chapter 2

The ballroom of the Neptune Yacht Club was resplendent in delicate twinkling lights. White centrepieces on the tall bar-height tables held arrangements of white flowers and in the middle were two red roses. Logan surmised these were supposed to represent Duncan and his bride to be, and he chuckled to himself as the thought of the Game of Thrones “Red Wedding” popped into his head. Probably not the intent of Celeste Kane’s decorating, but the solitary red partners was a theme that continued all the way to the wall of roses with a red chaise lounge set up in front, presumably for the couple when they arrived.

His mother had made sure they were fashionably late, but not garishly so that they missed the arrival of the couple. This was a relief to Logan as he was able to avoid most of the chatter that came with these events. It also meant that by the time Lilly saw him standing near the entrance to the ballroom, she was stopped mid-sway across the room by the lights dimming and the music changing to some terrible Musak take on Ella Fitzgerald’s standard “At Last.”

With only the tiny dancing lights above them, and the moonlight reflecting off the water through the tall windows of the room, there was a moment where Logan was indeed in awe of the beauty surrounding him. But then a harsh spotlight shone towards the wall of flowers. He flinched and remembered that the Kane family liked a production as big as any Broadway show.

In the spotlight, Celeste and Jake Kane stood—Jake with a microphone in his hand and a brilliant grin across his face and Celeste with a puckered smile pressed across her lips and a champagne flute in her hand. Celeste was in a flowing red dress, and Jake was in a tuxedo, a vibrant red pocket square his own embellishment on the theme.

“Thank you, my friends, for joining us this evening as we celebrate the upcoming marriage of our only son, Duncan, to the true love of his life.”

Demure applause filled the room, and Logan observed Celeste’s nose twitch as if holding back a scowl before taking a sip of her drink.

“The road to love for my son has not always been an easy one for him and his beloved,” Jake continued, his hand over his heart. “But a rocky journey can make a couple stronger in the end. And that’s where we are now. We are all part of the celebration as their journey continues to the exciting adventure of marriage.”

Jake glanced at Celeste, and she gave him a stiff smile before raising her glass towards the crowd.

“And now, I would like all of our friends and family, who have joined us from far and wide, to join us as we celebrate the impending marriage of our son, Duncan Kane, to the brilliant and talented, Ms. Veronica Mars.”

_Veronica._

The name caught in Logan’s brain.

_Veronica. The same name as…_

He always thought that the idea of time slowing at a pivotal moment in a story was a writing cliche, but here, as he watched his childhood best friend step out of the shadows with the stunning blond woman he had spent the last year of his life searching for, time crept like a snail. It was her. It was _her_. Stepping into the spotlight, golden hair cascading in soft curls over her bare shoulders, in a strapless red silk cocktail dress, it was her. Veronica. His Veronica. Or...not.

When his mother grabbed his arm, he nearly fell over in shock.

“Oh, Logan, she’s just beautiful. Duncan is such a lucky man,” Lynn whispered. “And, you know, she’s a lawyer like him. I bet she has a million smart and available friends she could introduce you to tonight.”

“Mother, please….” His voice was strained as he watched Veronica hug her soon-to-be father-in-law. When Jake released her, she proceeded to give a quick hug to Celeste before retaking Duncan’s hand.

Logan felt light-headed. Drunk, without having a single drink. This couldn’t be. How could she be with Duncan?

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_“So you’re telling me that no man in your life has ever shown you Easy Rider?”_

_Scoffing, she pulled her bare legs up underneath herself on the couch and adjusted his old NYU t-shirt so it draped over her as best it could stretch._

_“The man who used to be in my life was more of a Godfather guy than an Easy Rider man.”_

_“Oh, come on. I have problems believing that only one guy has had an influence on your taste in movies. Or music.”_

_Flopping down onto the couch next to her, he grabbed a wool blanket tossed over the arm of the leather couch and spread it open, covering her goose pimpled legs. She smiled up at him and licked her pink lips._

_“First off, I’m not easily influenced. Second, I’m more of a serial monogamist than a play the field sort of gal. Usually. Until this weekend, of course.”_

_“So like, ballpark this for me then….am I one of, say, one to five men? Five to ten men? Ten or more men? Or maybe throw some women in the count too?”_

_Veronica covered her mouth as she laughed, high and nervous, before answering. “No women. Strictly in the hetero category for me.” She averted her eyes for a second before staring back at him in a way that made him feel it in his soul. “You’re two. Just two.”_

_“Two,” he gasped, then cleared his throat to try and sound not so shocked._

_“Yeah. Two.” She whispered, her cheeks growing pink. “Guess I’m really not very good at this one-night-stand sort of stuff.”_

_Blinking away the surprise, Logan shifted, leaning back on the couch to face the television screen, his arm stretching across behind her shoulders. Looking down at her, he smiled warmly at her, staring back at him._

_“I’m glad you’re not.”_

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"I'm a pretty lucky guy," Duncan's voice shocked Logan from his thoughts, and he focused on his old friend, standing at the front of the room in his tuxedo, holding the microphone. "As my father said, Veronica and I took a long time getting here, but it _is_ about the journey and in the end, I feel so blessed that she is going to be my partner in life."

Polite applause broke out, and Logan joined in, his eyes still focused on Veronica standing next to Duncan. She smiled up at him, holding a champagne glass someone must have handed her. Under the bright lights, he could see that her eyes held no sparkle as she looked at her fiance, and for a second, he wondered if it was, in fact, the same Veronica, since the Veronica he knew would smile at him with her entire face—eyes wide and twinkling, cheeks pressed high, teeth flashed between warm pink lips.

"They do make a lovely couple."

Logan glanced down at Lilly at his side. She was in a tight red bandage dress, her lips matching perfectly to the shade of her dress, her hair cascading over her shoulder in an intricate braid.

"Quite," Logan muttered as she offered him a glass of champagne. "I take it you don't like her, Lil."

Lilly gasped and clutched her chest with feigned wounding. "How dare you, Logan Echolls," she whispered as Duncan droned on over the mic. "I love her! She's far too good for Donut."

Thankfully, the champagne flute stopped at his lips so he wouldn't spit out the expensive beverage at Lilly's words.

"Harsh, Lil. Where did they meet?"

"Stanford. First-year, pre-law. Friends since the beginning….blah, blah, blah." Lilly waved her hand, dismissively. "But the kicker is, she's Sheriff Mars' daughter, but she was raised in San Diego."

Logan cringed. Sheriff Mars was the bane of their existence when they were teens. He had broken up many of their parties on the beach and issued a couple of DUI's to them as well. He was also the one who photographed Logan's injuries in the hospital when he was a child, at the hands of his own father, Aaron Echolls. One incident of abuse was all Lynn needed before she divorced Aaron and took him for all he was worth, leaving Aaron broke and alone, with the mark of 'child abuser' forever connected to his Hollywood name. As the years went on, Logan always suspected the look Sheriff Mars gave him every time he was in trouble was one of pity, remembering the crying, terrified boy he’d helped so long ago.

"Great," he muttered.

"That's Keith Mars' daughter?" Lynn stated, leaning into the conversation, and Logan pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head as he became sandwiched between the two women. "She's just gorgeous! I mean, Keith was never what you would call _my type,_ but his daughter is just stunning."

"Yes. That's her." Lilly smiled at Lynn. "Truth be told, my brother lucked out when she took him back after they broke up last time."

"Took him back?" Logan's heart sped up at the thought that their fling must have happened while Veronica and Duncan were on a break.

"Yes. I thought the last time was for good, but here we are…." Lilly leaned closer, and Logan and Lynn leaned closer, forming a conspiratorial triad. "You didn't hear it from me, but the only reason they got back together was Sheriff Mars' accident. Duncan was by her side every day after Keith was shot. And then Dad paid for all the medical bills that insurance wouldn't cover."

"Oooooo….." Lynn hissed and took a quick sip of her drink. "Fascinating. I mean, I read in the newspaper that he was shot soon after he retired from the department but I never really kept up with what happened to him since."

Logan's brain began shuffling around the pieces of information Lilly was providing and linking them to what he already knew about Veronica, like little colourful Tetris blocks clicking one by one. If Logan was _two,_ then it seems like Duncan was one-A and one-B.

"So, Logan…" Lilly cooed, her fingers skimming the back of his hand. "Are you here with someone?"

"Yes." He grinned, jerking his head to the side. "My wonderful mother. And I will be staying by her side all night."

Lilly rolled her eyes and stepped away, getting the drift of what he was saying. There would be no rekindling of any high school flames. No quickie in the handicapped stall of the men's bathroom. No 2 a.m. meetup at a hotel. Not this time.

"Speaking of which, we should go over together so I can introduce you." Lynn wrapped her arm around Logan's protectively and smiled at Lilly. "Nice seeing you again."

"You too, Ms. Echolls. Logan." With a wink, Lilly turned away from them, sweeping back across the room, as if in search of other prey.

A line had formed leading up to the couple with people offering their congratulations to Duncan and Veronica. Giving his arm a small tug, Lynn gave Logan the inertia to move forward to join the queue.

Still hidden in the low light of the hall, Logan watched as Veronica smiled and conversed with people. She hugged some. Kissed the cheeks of others. Carried on a conversation with ease.

As they inched toward the couple, Logan's stomach tightened and turned, filling with dread. There were many ways this reacquaintance could go. She could pretend not to know him. She could greet him like an old friend. Or maybe, she would fall into his arm and say it was all a mistake, leave Duncan on the spot, and they would live happily ever after. As they approached, he wished for whatever one that would cause the least amount of pain to his heart.


	3. Chapter 3

Sweat tickled the back of Logan’s neck under his stiff tuxedo shirt collar as he watched Veronica talk to the couple ahead of them. He was far enough out of the glare from the spotlight that Veronica couldn’t see him, and he felt like a bit of a stalker, being able to see her without her seeing him. Logan knew from the theatre that if he shifted a little one way or the other, he could catch her eye, but for now, he stayed safely hidden.

As the woman gave Veronica a final hug, space opened up, and Lynn stepped quickly up to Duncan with a flourish of her hand. 

“Duncan! I’m so happy to finally meet your fiancee!”

Striding into the light, Logan kept his eyes focused on Veronica as her gaze shifted from Lynn to him. And then, there it was. The recognition he longed for. For the briefest moment, Veronica’s eyes went wide, her mouth dropped open in a gasp as her cheeks flushed.

She remembered.

She knew.

And then her eyes shifted back to Lynn, her palm pressed to her bare clavicle as she turned away from Logan.

“Veronica, this is Lynn Echolls. One of my mother’s best friends.” Duncan leaned in and kissed Lynn on both cheeks.

“Pleased to meet you, Ms. Echolls.” Veronica extended her hand, and Lynn grasped it with both of hers.

“The pleasure is all mine. I think the world of your father, Keith, and I’m so happy that fate brought you together with Duncan.” Lynn tossed Duncan a playful wink and a grin. “He’s a keeper.”

Duncan chuckled and waved Logan closer to them. This time, when Veronica looked him in the eye, it was with a steely gaze, and for a second, Logan wanted to know if she played poker, because that face could win every hand.

“And this...this is the famous Logan Echolls,” Duncan laughed, reaching over to grasp Logan’s shoulder. “The one I’ve been telling you about for years.”

“Ah, well, and now he finally has the last name,” Veronica mused, extending her hand to him. “Up until now, I just thought your last name was ‘My High School Best Friend.’”

For a split second, he balked, as if worried the touch of her may set off some sort of explosion. But when he grasped hers, there was only the warm tingling that ran up and down his skin from contact with the woman he had pined for all this time.

“Well, I am that,” Logan drawled, holding on to her hand for as long as he could. “Both Echolls and High School Best Friend.”

With that, she dropped his hand, her fingers brushing the hollow of her neck again as if looking for something that wasn’t there.

“We lost touch ages ago, but I’m glad you made it for this, Logan. It means a lot to me,” Duncan stated, draping his arm over Veronica’s shoulders. “How long are you in town? I want us to get to know each other again. It’s been too long.”

Veronica sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes now firmly fixed on Logan. For a split second, he forgot it was his turn to speak, and he coughed, pretending to clear a frog in his throat.

“Yeah. I’d love that, Duncan. I mean, I don’t think I’m up for surfing anymore, but I’d love to see you while I’m in town.”

Duncan laughed and patted his slight belly under his suit jacket. “You look like you’ve stayed in better shape than me over the years, so I won’t suggest anything competitive.”

Dragging her teeth over her bottom lip, Logan noted a small smile curl on the corner of Veronica’s lips. Pulling himself a little straighter, he clenched his muscles under his clothes, smirking with amusement.

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_“How hard is it to get this kind of body? Level with me. Do you only eat boiled chicken breasts? Are you in the gym for three hours a day?”_

_Veronica lay next to him, her index finger tracing the indentations of his ab muscles, swooping and swirling across his stomach as he sprawled naked on the bed, sweat still glistening across him from their latest round of sex._

_“Forty-five minutes a day. Sometimes longer if I need time to think a little harder about writing a particular scene. I’m lucky enough that I have a meal plan delivered to my house that doesn’t taste like cardboard, but my ‘cheat day’ is going to the bar for some drinks and over-priced appetizers with friends.”_

_“Cue my entrance,” she giggled, her finger veering off course to follow the small tuft of hair that started between his abs and continued much lower._

_“You are most definitely a cheat day…”_

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“I try and stay in shape.” Logan coughed, his hand now covering the grin that threatened to be a little too happy at the memory in his head. “Compensates for all those hours spent hunched in front of my computer.”

“Well, as his mother, I can vouch for the fact that my son is as close to perfection as they come,” Lynn stated with a mischievous grin. “So, Veronica, if you have any single friends you’d like to set Logan up with while he’s here…”

Cringing, Logan wrapped his arm around Lynn’s shoulders. “And on that terribly embarrassing note, why don’t you come and find me later, Duncan, and we can chat about getting together this week.” He tossed a quick nod towards the couple. “Veronica. Very nice to meet you.”

_Again._

As he steered Lynn away from the couple, he heard Veronica call out from behind him. “Nice to meet you too, Logan.”

“Another drink, Mother?” he muttered as he hurried them away.

“Always, darling,” Lynn giggled.

\----------------------------------------------

Logan stood on the end of the pier, mentally chastising himself for not bringing another drink with him. Drinking his double Old Fashioned while staring out into the darkness of the ocean meant that he consumed it a little faster than expected. At home or at the bar, he would sip them slowly while contemplating life, the universe, and everything. Tonight, he just needed to stop thinking. 

The unmistakable clicking of high heels on the wooden pier signalled that he wasn't alone, and he heaved a heavy sigh, gathering himself to deal with either Lilly or his mother again.

"Hey."

Spinning on his heels, Logan came face to face with Veronica, standing several feet away, draped in a long tan cashmere coat. Her hair blew in the breeze, and she shuddered at the cold night air.

"Hey, you."

With that, he lost his words—a horrible thing for most people, but outright tragic for a writer.

"I...I don't have much time…" Veronica stammered, glancing back at the lights from the ballroom. "But I wondered if we could talk. Tomorrow. And I could...I don't know...explain…"

"Explain." Logan scratched his beard, shaking his head as he let out an ironic chuckle. "Explain what, Veronica? There's nothing to explain. You wanted one lost weekend with some guy you met in a bar, and that's what I was. I get it. It's all crystal clear."

Squaring her shoulders, Veronica's eyes narrowed as if suddenly ready for a fight. "It wasn't like that."

"Are you sure about that?"

Her lips pursed for a second before releasing a frustrated huff of annoyance. Stepping quickly towards him, she thrust a white cocktail napkin at him.

"Here. This is my address. Just please, come and see me at about 11 o'clock tomorrow. I want to talk. Please."

Logan's hand twitched as he took the napkin from her and shoved it into his pocket. "Fine. I'll drop by."

"Thank you." She let out a sigh of relief and forced a tight smile. "I appreciate you giving me a chance to explain."

Averting his eyes, Logan glanced around at the yachts as they bounced in the soft waves from the wind. 

He refocused on her and pulled the collar of his jacket up against the wind. "Don't worry—I won't tell anyone about us. I promise."

"That's not what…" Veronica stepped toward him again, but seemed to catch herself coming too close and retreated. "We'll talk tomorrow when both of us haven't been drinking. Good night, Logan."

With that, she spun around and quickly walked away, the sound of her heels ricocheting across the pier.

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_"Good night, Veronica." Taking a chance, he kissed her forehead tenderly as she lay in the crook of his arm. It had been a long time since he had felt this way about anyone, and even if it was to end tomorrow, he wanted to make sure she knew there was another side to his affection besides just the physical._

_"Good night, Logan," she whispered softly, wriggling her body against his under the covers, her leg wrapping around his, her arm now slung across his chest._

_That was the last thing she said to him. The next morning, she was gone._

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"Good night, Veronica," he said to himself as he watched her silhouette disappear into the night. "See you tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 4

Logan pulled up to the house in his mother’s emerald green Jaguar and immediately regretted borrowing her car. It stood out like a giant diamond in a pile of river rocks among the sensible sedans and mini-vans lining the street. The older red-brick house had a dark wooden porch on the front and was shaded by a giant apple tree. A white picket fence, the paint peeling from age, surrounded the property. It was in an area of town that Logan visited a few times as a teenager when his weed dealer couldn’t make it out to deliver to him. He was pretty sure the guy's house was on the next block.

Logan's phone went off, and he retrieved his cell from where he tossed it on the passenger seat, frowning at the push notification. He had exchanged numbers with Duncan last night so they could make plans. Apparently, his old friend was very eager to get together.

**Duncan: Dinner tonight? 7ish at my place?**

With a sigh, he unlocked his phone and typed in a response.

**Logan: Pizza in your mom’s pool house? Sure!**

Grinning at the screen, he waited for a few seconds for another message to pop up.

**Duncan: Haha. My condo downtown, dumbass. Veronica will be there too.**

Logan glanced back up at the house. Obviously, this wasn’t where Duncan and Veronica lived together. He surmised that it must be her father’s old house. His stomach suddenly flipped with nerves as he cringed. Why did it feel like he was cheating? It shouldn’t. He was just here to talk to Veronica. That’s all. At around 4 a.m. this morning, he finally had himself convinced that the last year of pining was a gigantic mistake, and it was best to let their weekend together fade into an eventually warm memory. Eventually. For now, it felt more like a bleeding stab wound to the heart.

**Logan: Okay. Going into a meeting. Text me your address, and I’ll see you later.**

With that, he turned off his cell, opened the glove compartment, and shoved it inside. There was no way he was going to let anything interrupt this meeting. Things needed to be said.

Exiting the vehicle, he shoved the keys into the pocket of his pants as he strode towards the door. The gate’s hinges screeched as it opened, and he shivered as the noise pierced his eardrums. Closing the gate behind him, he heard the loud barking of a dog inside the house and Veronica’s voice came through a partially opened window.

“Baxter! Quiet! Go lay down.”

The barking stopped just as he made it up the front steps, across the small porch to the front door. As he was contemplating whether to knock or ring the bell, the solid oak door flew open, and Veronica stood, wide-eyed and slightly dishevelled, in front of him. Her hair was piled in a high bun on top of her head, and she was wearing a pair of tight black yoga pants with a black-and-white striped top that hugged her small curves.

“Hi! Sorry. We’re really running behind today. I was hoping to at least change…” she babbled, looking back into the house and then back at Logan. “...but you’re here, so I guess you might as well come in. We just finished up.”

Stepping back, she opened the door wider, and Logan walked into the entryway, following Veronica’s eyes towards the living room just on his left. The space was virtually empty except for the presence of two men—a big, balding Hispanic man in a tracksuit who was helping an older man into his wheelchair. Logan’s heart stopped as he realized who the man in the wheelchair was.

“My dad’s physical therapy started late,” Veronica explained from behind him as she shut the door. “Mathias had to make a run to the clinic to pick up something and got caught in traffic.”

Instead of furniture, scattered around the room were pieces of random exercise equipment -- yoga mats, free weights, a giant rubber ball. On the wall was mounted a large T.V. on which soothing music was playing as pictures of rolling hills and gentle waterfalls looped on the screen.

“Not a problem,” Logan murmured, still slightly taken aback by the presence of Sheriff Mars. 

When he was a child, he saw Sheriff Mars as a gentle giant of a man. The man that helped to save him from Aaron. The man who was so kind to him when he needed it most. It wasn’t until he encountered him again as a teenager that Logan realized he was, in fact, taller than the Sheriff, and the feeling of the looming father figure switched as he jackassed his way through drunken encounters with the officer. Right now, he regretted the later behaviour for so many reasons.

Because now that man was gone. Sure, it still looked like the Sheriff who Logan once knew, filling out the loose t-shirt and sweatpants, but only vaguely. He was plumper, rounder, his balding head now completely void of hair, but his face stubbled with white hairs. He wasn’t sure how this had happened, but a deep need to know filled him.

Seated in his wheelchair, Sheriff Mars looked up at Logan, squinting at first before his face lit up in a grin. Mathias tucked the Sheriff’s dangling legs safely onto the footrests and patted his leg.

“There we go, Mr. Mars.”

“Thank you, Mathias.” Keith nodded to him before refocusing on Logan. Slowly, he rolled his wheelchair towards him. “Well, this is a face I haven’t seen in a while. Before you were even able to grow a beard, I believe.”

Logan chuckled and scratched his cheek, shaking his head as he grinned. “You’re right about that, Sheriff.”

“Oh, please. You’re an adult. Call me Keith.” As he extended his hand, Logan saw his arm shake slightly, and he quickly grasped it, feeling the frailty of the once strong man.

“All right, sir…I mean, _Keith_.” Logan released his grip, and Keith’s hand fell slightly before returning to the arms of his wheelchair. 

“You two know each other?” Veronica asked, coming around to stand near her father, gripping the handle of the chair.

The two men exchanged glances. Logan knew what happened was somewhat confidential—even if the details of his parents’ divorce was only a Google search away.

“A long time ago, I helped keep this boy keep on the straight and narrow,” Keith mused, pointing a shaking finger at Logan. “And now look at the man he’s become. That Tony award should have been yours, son. I was right here in this house, rooting for you that night.”

Emotion swelled in Logan’s throat, and he swallowed, trying to clear it before he could talk. “Thank you, Keith. That means a lot to know you were in my corner.”

“Someone had to be.” Pursing his lips together, Keith nodded. “Now, if you’ll both excuse me, I need to rest. My daughter and my therapist just put me through the wringer.”

“You did great today, Dad.” Veronica kissed his bald head and patted his arm.

“I can help him into a shower and then into bed, Veronica…if you have company.” Mathias grasped one of the handles, and Veronica smiled at him. “I don’t have to be back at the clinic until 3:00 today for another appointment.”

“Oh, that would be great. Thank you. I’ll make us lunch too, so you don’t have to grab fast food.”

She released the chair to Mathias, and he chuckled. “I’ll take you up on that.”

As Mathias wheeled Keith out of the living room, an awkward silence fell between Logan and Veronica. He looked over to see her pull her hair out of her sloppy bun, letting it fall in messy waves over her shoulders, and his heart fluttered ever so slightly. One year later, she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever met.

“Come on.” She jerked her head towards a doorway. “Let’s go talk in the kitchen where we have some privacy.”

Logan nodded and followed her through the dining room, with the table pushed against one wall to make room for a wheelchair to pass. The kitchen was small, with a little table and two chairs in the corner. She gestured towards them, and Logan sat as she walked to the fridge.

“Bottled water? Coffee? I made a big pot…” she said as she opened the door to the fridge and grabbed a water.

“No, thanks. I had two cups already.” Lowering himself onto one of the chairs, he exhaled slowly. “I heard that your father had an accident. If you don’t mind me asking, what happened?”

Unscrewing the cap, Veronica hip-checked the fridge door closed and leaned against the old Formica counter, taking a sip before answering.

“My dad had been retired for about three months from the Sheriff's department. Well, one morning, he walked into the Quickie Mart to get a coffee and a newspaper only to find that some kid, hopped up on crystal meth, was trying to rob the place. So of course, my dad tried to calm him down and diffuse the situation because, well, he spent his entire career doing just that. Unfortunately, this kid decided he didn’t want to listen and instead shot my dad. Bullet went right through his stomach and nicked his spine on the way out of his body. I guess we should be grateful for the fact that his insurance covered some of it, but not everything.”

Grief for Veronica and Keith gripped Logan, and he shook his head in shock at the story he was hearing.

"That's awful. Your father is someone I thought about often over the years. I'm glad he survived, though. He's a good man."

"Thank you. He really is. Growing up, I only got to see him on Sundays, holidays, and two weeks in the summer. We’d usually go on vacation then, Disney or camping."

“So, your mom and dad are divorced too?”

“Yes, my mother raised me in San Diego. Sent me to an all girl’s Catholic school. My father tried to keep me away from Neptune, for reasons I never understood until recently.”

“Ah. Come for the beaches, stay for the condescending wealthy elite with more money than brains.” He raised his hand. “Of which I am a recovering one. Time, distance, and therapy helps with that, I might add.”

“Good to know.” Veronica took another sip of her water before placing it on the counter next to her. “I usually blame my mother’s penchant for bringing home random men, and one or two overly strict nuns at school, for my problems. But it’s getting a little old now that I’m thirty.”

A kernel of knowledge. Something. She managed to avoid any real conversation when they were together, but they were now in her territory. This connected in Logan's brain with the few things he managed to learn that weekend and last night about the mystery that was Veronica.

"And that would be why you told me you're not really a one-night-stand sort of woman." She blushed, and Logan instantly regretted his words. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"No. You have every right to say it. I wanted to talk, and we're going to talk." Veronica crossed her arms over her chest and heaved a sigh. "Yes. That is why. Truth be told, I thought I would stay a virgin until my wedding night, but twenty-five seemed like a pretty good age to just give it all away. But at the time, I was committed to Duncan."

"And when we were together...not so much."

"Yes. Not so much," she muttered. "Duncan and I had broken up about six months prior. I was in New York at the bar with some colleagues—I'm a human rights lawyer, and we were attending a conference put on by the U.N."

Logan rocked the chair back and crossed his arms, getting antsy for more answers.

"And I just happened to swoop in and save you from one of them."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I feel like _saving me_ is a bit of a stretch. But yes, at the time, I appreciated you stepping in when Mercer got handsy at the bar."

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_"Mercer. I told you that I…"_

_"Look, Veronica…" The man gripped her wrists as she tried to wriggle free._

_"I think you should take your hands off my girlfriend, buddy. Now."_

_The dark haired man in the elegant suit quickly let go of the woman and spun around to find Logan towering over him._

_"She never said anything about a boyfriend," Mercer hissed._

_"Darling! You flew all the way across the country for me?" Slipping away from Mercer in the dark bathroom hallway, Veronica tossed her arms around Logan's neck and kissed his cheek. "What a wonderful surprise! How did you find me?"_

_"That GPS tracker I put on your phone. I was curious what a place called 'Bathtub Gin' would look like..." he chuckled, tossing Mercer a wink. "What can I say...I'm_ **_very_ ** _protective of my girlfriend. So protective I may be provoked to drag someone out behind this swanky club and teach him what I do when I find someone manhandling my girl."_

_Veronica placed her hand on his chest, pushing him back slightly. "Now honey-bunny, let's let Mercer be and go get a drink together. Okay?"_

_She looked up at him with those big bright blue eyes, and his heart skipped a couple of beats. Slipping his arm around her waist, he nodded._

_"Sure, Pumpkin. Let's do that."_

_Pivoting away from Mercer, the two walked back down the hall._

_"I'm Logan, by the way," he whispered._

_"What? You don't like honey-bunny?" she teased._

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"You were the one who stuck around to talk with me." A wry smile pulled at Logan's lips. "You could have left."

For a moment, she balked, and he wondered if he pushed too hard. Slowly, a warm smile spread across her face.

"I think we can admit there was a spark between us, Logan. I just wanted to see what that spark would ignite."

Dropping the chair back to a stable position, Logan leaned forward in earnest, his elbows resting on his knees.

"Everything, Veronica. That spark burned every wall I had created down to the ground."

Her breath hitched, and for a second, Logan thought she may burst into tears. Instead, she hung her head, letting her long hair shadow her face as she fidgeted with the diamond solitaire on her finger.

"Logan, I'm sorry. I have to confess that I heard what you said to me that night when you thought I was asleep. How you thought you were in love with me.” Veronica took a sharp breath as she raised her left hand to her mouth to chew on her thumbnail, the gleam of her engagement ring flashing in the light. “You need to know that staying with you all weekend and letting you develop feelings for me…well...that wasn't my plan."

"Look, I'm sorry, but it's true." He paused, dropping his head to run his fingers through his hair. "But I know it was wrong of me to have said it, and _I'm_ sorry. You have no reason to apologize because you set very clear boundaries about how you felt going into our arrangement, and I stepped right over that line. And I'm sorry I said it."

"It...it wasn't what you said. Well, that's part of it, but not the whole reason."

"Then what is it? Why did you leave before I woke up?”

She picked up the water bottle again, taking a quick sip as if gathering herself before deciding to speak again, and Logan wondered if this was a tactic she used in the courtroom.

"I left because I didn't want to be like my mother," she stated, placing the bottle back down. "She would meet these guys, and they would tell her they loved her, and the next thing I knew, they were taking me to the zoo to try and prove they could be my 'new dad'. But it never worked out, and they would leave. And I didn't want that with you. That weekend was too special to turn it into something that wouldn't work out. So I left."

"So, you left because it was _too special?_ "

"Yes," she huffed. "Look, I don't know how better to explain it…"

She was scared. Logan realized what it was. He had triggered a reaction in her so powerful, he had emotionally scarred her, and for that, he would always regret saying he loved her so quickly.

Rising, he held up his hands, palms out. "You don't need to explain, Veronica. I get it. It was a moment in time. Let's not talk about it anymore and leave it as such."

Reaching around into his back pocket, Logan pulled out his wallet. Opening the change pocket, he pulled the necklace slowly from the leather as she gasped in shock, the small cross catching the light as it dangled from the chain.

"You left this at my place. I wasn't sure why I brought it across the country when I came, but here it is, back in your hands."

Veronica's eyes filled with tears as she opened her hand, stepping towards him. He met her in the middle of the room, slowly lowering it into her palm before she closed her fist tightly around it.

"This was my mom's necklace. She died of cancer when I was in college," she whispered, her fist pressing against her heart. "I thought it was gone forever."

"Not lost forever. Just for a time. I’m so sorry about your mother. I’m glad I could bring it back to you."

She nodded, closing her eyes briefly as if praying before opening them again.

"Will I see you again before you go back to New York?"

Logan shrugged, returning his wallet to his back pocket. "Your choice. Duncan invited me over for dinner tonight at your condo, but you can always bail. I'll understand."

"That must have been the texts I received while I was working with Dad. And it’s Duncan’s condo, not mine. I live here with my dad for the time being. I gave up my job at the law firm and my apartment in San Diego when I realized Dad would need a full-time caretaker. Duncan kept his job, but decided to buy the condo for himself and commute every day."

"You gave up your career for your father?"

"I tried to see it as an opportunity to get to know him better. The divorce and his job kept him away a lot. I didn't want to live with the regret of losing him without knowing him." Veronica shrugged. "I mean, I’m being a little melodramatic…I didn't give up my career completely. It just shifted a bit. Over the past six months, I've written a few articles for different publications about human rights violations in jails and immigration detention centers around the United States. So, still in my field but making a difference in a new way."

"Wow. So we're both writers now." A wide smile crossed Logan's face, and Veronica laughed.

"Yeah. I guess we are."

"Well then, I look forward to the possibility of sharing a scotch with you tonight and talking about writing. Just FYI...all writers drink scotch."

Gathering her hair, she tossed it over one shoulder and stepped closer, opening her palm and holding the necklace towards him.

"Good to know. I guess it’s lucky that I enjoy a good single-malt," she mused. "Help me put this back on?"

As he reached for it, Logan tried not to touch her skin, picking it up gingerly with the tips of his thumb and forefinger. The first time he had gently swept his knuckles over her bare shoulder, in the taxi on the way back to his home in the Bronx that fateful night, the electricity from their simple contact set every nerve ending in his body to spark. And when he took her up against the wall in his condo’s entryway—half-naked and frantic with desire—it felt like lightning had struck him. He was terrified it could happen again.

Pivoting, she scooped her hair up high, presenting her bare neck to him. As he reached through the opening created between her raised arm and head, he fought every urge telling him to lean down and kiss the small protruding ridges of her spine, just below her hairline, as he did that night. Grasping the other end of the chain, he brought it closer to him, away from her body just enough so he could connect the tiny clasp. With a sigh, he let the chain fall before slipping his hands away from her before any temptations became too great.

She was his best friend’s fiancee. It was all over now. The sooner he could get back to New York and begin to put this past year of anguish behind him, the better.

“There you are,” he murmured and stepped back.

Dropping her hair, she spun back around, her eyes full of sadness. Had she been hoping he would do something? She was with Duncan. There was no way.

As she opened her mouth to speak, the sound of a barking dog filled the house, and they both turned to see a large brown pitbull come tearing around the corner from the dining room. The sudden appearance of the animal made Logan jump, and Veronica stepped in front of him quickly, her finger up at the ready.

“Baxter! Stay!”

The dog screeched to a halt so quickly that he bumped into Veronica’s legs. He let out a yip and a growl, but didn’t move. Veronica scratched between his ears, and the mammoth dog sighed.

“Good boy. This is a friend, not lunch.”

“And on that note…” Logan said, skirting around her and the dog. “I should go. See you tonight?”

“Yeah. I think you will.” A tight smile pulled her lips as she nodded and stepped to follow him, but Logan raised his hand in protest.

“That’s okay. I’ll let myself out.”

Quickly, he made his way through the house and out the front door. The last thing he wanted was any type of goodbye. Right now, his heart couldn’t take it.


	5. Chapter 5

There was a mix of relief and sadness when Logan knocked on Duncan's door, and Veronica did not answer. Apparently, she was interviewing a source for her latest article, and it was lasting longer than expected. At least that's what Duncan said. Which was fine because it gave Logan the chance to tour the sprawling condo, with its spectacular view of Neptune from twenty floors up. It also allowed him to catch up with Duncan alone and consume two needed drinks to calm his nerves while they waited for Veronica. 

Sitting on the edge of the chaise lounge on the balcony, Logan checked the time on his phone. He was getting anxious about Veronica's arrival, and even if he and Duncan were having a good time talking, he had to admit that the opportunity to see Veronica again was why he was really here.

"So, are you going to come back for our wedding in a few months? It's going to be quite the event." Duncan handed Logan a new tumbler with scotch and took his seat on the black wicker sofa across from him.

"Is this my invitation?" Logan chuckled. "Because I was hoping it would arrive engraved, carried by two white doves."

Duncan laughed, raising his glass in a toast before taking a quick sip. "If my mother had her way, it would. That's why we let her throw the big engagement party. Veronica is not into the big productions and wants a simple church wedding in San Diego."

After speaking with Veronica earlier in the day, Logan knew that tracked. It was odd, however, to see Duncan participating in something of the religious variety. The only religion Logan knew the Kane family followed was that of devout Capitalism.

"I did hear from someone at the party that she grew up in San Diego," Logan said slowly, choosing his words to try and lead Duncan in the direction to give up more information about his fiancee. "It's pretty wild that you ended up with Sheriff Mars' daughter. How did you meet?"

Duncan stretched his arms along the back of the couch and grinned. "Luck and talent. We were friends in college, and one day, I just decided to ask her out on a date. Truth be told, at that point, I thought she was a lesbian because I had never seen her with anyone other than her girlfriends, but I figured I would try anyway."

Logan resisted the urge to smack his forehead, choosing instead to keep his cringing on the inside. Up until this second, he had almost forgotten what an ass his best friend was with women. Almost.

"She kind of reminds me of Meg from high school."

Duncan stiffened, his lip twitching as he looked away. Logan knew that Duncan's family had paid for Meg to be shipped away to some home for pregnant, unwed girls when she announced Duncan had knocked her up in high school. When she came back to town without a child in her arms, Logan knew they had forced her to give it up. At the time, Logan was a "bro" and supported his friend. It wasn't until he was older and wiser that he regretted his allegiance. 

"What can I say…" Duncan drawled. "My weakness is good Catholic girls."

Bile churned in Logan's stomach. Duncan was always the _nice guy_ at school. Won awards for his charity service. School president, thanks to his father's help. But Logan knew Duncan was as big an asshole, if not bigger, on the inside as Logan portrayed on the outside. At least Logan owned it and spent many years in therapy trying to correct it.

Leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees, Logan took a sip of scotch. He figured this was the way to get to the good information on Veronica's relationship with Duncan.

"Something is appealing about them," he concurred, slipping into a more lecherous character in his head. "The downside is they only do missionary."

"That's definitely my Veronica," Duncan chuckled. "But it's fine. I don't need a wild woman, just one that puts out."

He was going to vomit. The thought of Duncan on top of Veronica made Logan truly sick to his stomach, but he pushed on.

"Your dad said something about this being the culmination of a long journey for you guys. What's that all about?"

Duncan paused, swirling the ice around in his glass of whisky before bringing it to his lips. When he removed it, a Cheshire grin spread across his face.

"Well, we met at Stanford when we were 18, but we didn't start dating until a few years later, just after her mom died of breast cancer. But even that was slow—we dated for a full year before she ever let me touch her. Then, just after our fourth anniversary, she stopped wanting sex. Kept making excuses like she was too stressed or too tired." Duncan shrugged. "So I took my mother's advice and cheated on her, figuring that she would take the hint and realize that she needed to keep her man happy. Instead, we broke up. Now, I admit, it wasn't my finest moment, but I thought it would work. Turns out, it didn't." He sighed in a way that made Logan suspect he was still bitter that Veronica dumped him, but had no regrets about his real mistake. "But when her dad was shot, I got the chance to prove she was wrong about me, and she took me back. Now we're here."

And just like that, a switch flipped in his brain, and Logan thanked the heavens that he left Neptune when he did, all those years ago. He was grateful he got out. Grateful for friends like Wallace, who kept him humble. Grateful, he didn't turn out like a grown-up frat boy.

It also explained so much more.

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_Logan gave Veronica's nipple one last flick with the tip of his tongue, and she arched, moaning her approval. His lips skimmed across the soft curve of her breast as he shifted positions to rise above her. Continuing his trail of soft kisses down her abdomen, he stopped at her navel, feeling her body tense under him._

_"Veronica?" He shifted his gaze to hers, noting the wide-eyed look of hesitation on her face. "Is this okay?"_

_"I just...if you're about to do what I think you're going to do, I need to tell you that I don't really like...that."_

_It took Logan a second to get over the shock of what she was saying._

_"You don't like oral?"_

_The high blush on her cheeks told him this was verging outside her comfort zone._

_"Not really."_

_Frowning, he pondered her words and body language. Considering how they had started the evening fucking hard against his wall before moving into the bedroom, this had him slightly perplexed. Her willingness made it seem as if she was hell-bent on as much pleasure as he could give her tonight._

_"Do you not like it? Or have you never had good oral sex?"_

_She bit her swollen bottom lip, pausing in contemplation. "Maybe the latter?"_

_Chuckling, he kissed her abdomen, raising his eyes to her again._

_"Would you consent to give me a chance to try? I promise if you don't like it, just tap me on the shoulder, and I'll stop."_

_A soft smile preceded her nod. "Okay. We'll try."_

_Two orgasms later, Logan was pretty fucking proud of himself for changing her mind._

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“You’re a pretty lucky guy,” Logan drawled, a smirk pulling the corner of his lip. “Not a lot of women would forgive you for cheating.” 

“Not a lot of women are Veronica,” Duncan stated, raising his glass to Logan again before downing the rest of the drink.

Logan wanted to punch the smug look from Duncan’s face. He couldn’t believe that someone as intelligent and beautiful as Veronica had settled for a schmuck like Duncan. But he now understood why Lilly was on Veronica’s side, and not her own brother’s.

The front door opened, and a voice called out through the condo. “Hello! I made it!”

Followed by a second voice that made Logan cringe. “And she came with a guest!"

Veronica and Lilly walked into view, and the men stood to greet them. For a fleeting second, Logan almost continued towards Veronica, but realized his mistake and changed direction to Lilly.

“Hope you don’t mind,” Veronica said as Duncan leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Lilly texted me about going out tonight, and I told her I would pick her up and come here instead.”

“I couldn’t pass up a chance to see Logan again,” Lilly winked, draping her arm around Logan’s waist. “Catch up on old times.”

Logan glanced down as Lilly smiled up at him. She was wearing tight jeans, black high-heeled boots, and a white blouse that was subtle but still showed off her breasts in spectacular fashion from his point of view. They had been together long enough that she knew what he liked—he enjoyed the tease. And after three drinks and a year of celibacy, he was reconsidering the offer she made at the party last night for a good old fashioned naked romp to clear Veronica from his system.

Apparently, Veronica knew what Lilly was up to as well, and she frowned at them for a split second before walking away towards the open kitchen.

Veronica was in comfortable slacks and a navy-and-red striped shirt that unbuttoned to a v-neck. Around her neck, she wore the gold cross and a rush of warmth spread through Logan, knowing that he was able to reunite her with the precious jewellery.

“Hope the food isn’t too cold,” she said as she crossed the room.

“No. It was delivered about 30 minutes ago, and I put it in the oven,” Duncan called after her, hurrying to catch up. “Dessert is in the fridge.”

He caught up to her behind the long counter and whispered something in her ear. With her back turned, Logan couldn’t tell what was being said, but when Duncan put his hand on the small of her back, she stood straighter, tossing a glance back at him and Lilly before nodding.

“Are you happy to see me, Lover?” A droll grin crossed Lilly’s face.

Maybe it was the drinks. Maybe it was watching Duncan and Veronica acting so domestic together as they shifted around each other in the kitchen, getting dinner together. Or maybe it was just the sadness at knowing that his honour would not allow him to make a move on Veronica, knowing she was with his old best friend.

Dropping his head to kiss Lilly’s cheek, he whispered in her ear. “Yes. Very much so.”

\-------------------------------

It was amazing how Logan felt simultaneously terrible and elated. Dinner and dessert had been excellent, with the couples easily laughing and enjoying each other’s company, regaling each other with tales from their years apart. Duncan had plastered on his best party face, and even Veronica was laughing at some of his stories of their antics in high school. Logan realized she avoided his eyes, for the most part. What he also noticed that every time Lilly touched him—a sweep of her hands through his hair, a gentle squeeze of his bicep—Veronica would become physically uncomfortable, shifting in her seat or suddenly standing and walking away from the table. The entire evening, it was Duncan who showed her physical affection, but Veronica seemed to completely shy away from demonstrating it with him.

The evening had grown too cold to sit out on the balcony again, and so they all took a seat in the living room, Veronica and Duncan in chairs across from Logan and Lilly, who took over the white leather couch. When they sat, Lilly practically draped herself over Logan’s lap, her leg swinging over his as her arm draped around his shoulders. And Logan didn’t mind. The woman he loved was marrying another man. Having another (inevitable) romp with Lilly would classify as getting laid by some Cali girl, as per Wallace’s suggestion. He dropped his hand onto Lilly’s thigh, and she licked her lips, tossing him a look of pure lust.

“So, you dated in high school, right?” Veronica’s voice cracked as she spoke, and she took another sip of water, her eyes fixed on Logan’s hand inching up Lilly’s thigh.

“On and off,” he replied.

“I taught him everything he knows,” Lilly said with a smirk.

Veronica nearly spit out her water at Lilly’s revelation, and she covered her mouth, trying to hide it. But Logan saw. She was obviously shaken by the thought of Lilly and her sharing the same lover.

“Well, not everything, Lilly.” Logan arched his eyebrow at Veronica. “A lot of it is just natural talent."

"Are you two going to get a room?" Duncan muttered.”Why must our visits always devolve into you two going at it in front of me?”

“In our defence, the last time Logan visited, _you_ walked in on us.” Lilly pointed at Duncan. “And that was ten years ago.”

“Has it been that long, Lilly?” Logan scratched his beard, shaking his head. “Where has the time gone?”

“Well, you did take my calls when I was in New York, up until recently,” Lilly pouted, her finger pressing gently on the bow of his lips before removing it. “It’s been more than a year, lover. For a second, I thought you may have run off with someone else.”

Logan glanced at Veronica, sitting silently, her eyes lowered away from the scene, and his heart ached again. All the alcohol and flirting in the world wasn’t going to keep this pain at bay, not as long as he was here in her presence.

“I almost did,” he murmured, untangling himself from Lilly and reaching over to the coffee table for his drink. “But it wasn’t meant to be.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make you forget her…” Lilly’s hand swept higher on Logan’s thigh.

Just before it reached the apex, Veronica jumped from her seat, breathless and flushed. “Lilly! A word, please!”

Scoffing, Lilly frowned at her friend. “Now? Why?”

“Just…please…” Veronica jerked her head towards the back hallway, her eyes darting from there to Lilly. “I…I just remembered…I have to talk to you about the dress fittings tomorrow.”

Lilly heaved a heavy sigh and rolled her eyes. “Can’t we do it here?”

“No. I need to show you pictures. Pictures your mom sent, and Duncan can’t see.” Walking around the chair, Veronica gestured with her head again to leave the room, this time, her eyes pleading with Lilly to follow.

With a groan of discontent, Lilly rose and blew Logan a kiss. “Stay there. We’ll be back.”

Making sure to swing her hips with an exaggerated sway, Lilly walked in front of Logan, squeezing between him and the coffee table as she made her way to join Veronica, who had already taken off down the hall. A second after Lilly followed, there was a slam of a door, and the room fell quiet.

It all made Logan feel unsettled. There was something up. He didn’t know what it was, but something was off with Veronica. Maybe he had taken the flirting with Lilly a bit too far. The drink had clouded his comprehension.

“Women,” Duncan muttered, raising his glass. “Amiright?”

Logan raised his glass to Duncan and leaned over, the sound of crystal clinking against crystal dancing through the room.

“You may be right,” Logan sighed as he leaned back in his seat.

“I can’t believe you still sleep with my sister,” Duncan stated with a cringe.

“Only when she’s single and offers. Or when she finds herself in the Bronx.”

“What would she be doing in the Bronx?”

Logan shrugged. “Looking for me.”

“That’s fair.” Duncan drunkenly nodded.

“In all honesty, it hasn’t been often. The last time I saw her, we spent three hours together. It was literally nothing.”

Ducan raised his hand and shook his head. “Stop! I don’t want to hear about my sister’s transcontinental bootie calls to you. Let me live in a world where you both were sane enough to stop this long ago.”

Chuckling, Logan lifted the glass to his lips and tossed back the rest of his scotch. Veronica had one drink of scotch with him with her tiramisu. But before and after, she only drank water. It seemed that she wanted her wits about her tonight.

“Duncan, we all can’t be as lucky as you are to find someone to love.” Logan glanced over towards a side table filled with happy, smiling pictures of Duncan and Veronica together. “Lilly is like the other women in my life, a distraction from the loneliness. No more, no less.”

“That sucks, man.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled ironically. “It does.”

There was silence between the men for a second before the sound of Lilly giggling wafted into the room from the hallway. Quick footsteps followed as Lilly traipsed through the room. She made eye contact with Logan and gave him a wink as she kept walking towards the coat rack near the door.

“Well, Lover, this has been fun.” Reaching into the pile, she grabbed her coat and tossed it over her shoulders. “But I must be off. And I’m taking Veronica with me.”

“Wait. What?” Duncan stood quickly. So quickly that, in his drunkenness, he wavered a bit as he turned to see Veronica, hurrying to catch up to Lilly.

“Big day tomorrow,” Veronica said and blew him the phoniest kiss Logan had ever seen. And he had written for Summer Stock, so that was saying a lot.

“Veronica’s my ride, Donut. Gotta take her with me.” Lilly handed Veronica her jacket, and she put it on, avoiding Duncan as he walked up to the two.

“But Veronica, I thought you were staying _here_ tonight….” The tone of his voice told Logan Duncan was hoping something else would happen if Veronica stayed tonight, but she immediately shook her head.

“Not tonight. I have the dress fitting tomorrow with Lilly, and if we don’t do it then, we won’t get another chance until the week of the wedding.” Standing on her toes, she placed a chaste kiss on Duncan’s cheek. “And your mother needs me to make a decision on the cut of my dress, once and for all, so I want to have a clear head.”

As Veronica continued to talk to Duncan, Lilly sauntered back to Logan. He stood as she came around his chair and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her lips coming towards him, as if to give him a kiss, but then skimming his cheek, landing close to his ear instead.

“She told me everything, lover,” Lilly hissed, and Logan’s heart stopped. Patting his chest, Lilly stepped back, a wicked grin spread across her face, and she dragged her teeth over her bottom lip. “We’ll chat tomorrow. I’ll find you.”

With a toss of her golden hair over her shoulder, Lilly swept back to Veronica and wrapped a protective arm around her waist. “Look, Donut. We gotta go. Just go on PornHub. You’ll be fine for tonight.”

“Lilly!” Duncan exclaimed, and Lilly took her chance to lead Veronica closer to the exit.

“Good night, all!” she said with a wave of her hand as she released Veronica and opened the door.

Veronica glanced back, first at Duncan, then at Logan, a soft smile pulling at her lips. “Good night,” she said, before disappearing behind Lilly.

The whole condo went mute as the men contemplated what happened. Slowly, Duncan turned back to Logan, rubbing the back of his neck.

“So? Want to grab a taxi to the strippers?”

Logan was in a daze. He promised he wouldn’t say anything about his relationship with Veronica, but then it seemed that Veronica took it upon herself to say something to Lilly. For what reason? Did she need to unburden herself? Did she need to confide her deepest, darkest secret to someone? Or was she jealous? Was she actually that jealous of the attention Lilly was lavishing on him tonight that she would tell Lilly, just to stop her? Not that she really had the right to be—she was marrying his best friend. He was a free agent. Even if his heart said otherwise.

“Sure,” Logan muttered in his confused state. “Why the fuck not?"


	6. Chapter 6

Logan pulled Veronica closer to his body. His whole body was screaming at him after his night out, but at least he had her this morning to comfort him. Keeping his eyes closed, he pressed his face into her hair.

“…onica…” He nuzzled into the back of her neck, breathing in the familiar floral and woodsy scent of Chanel perfume.

“Shit!” He opened his eyes and released the person in his bed, now fully awake and coherent.

Lilly rolled over and propped her head up on her palm, grinning back at him. “I was wondering how long you would take to realize it was me.”

“Aren’t we a little old for these games, Lil?”

Logan collapsed on his back, his palms pressing to his eyes. It had been a while since he was this hung-over. The last thing he remembered was proclamations of brotherly love on the sidewalk as he and Duncan waited for their taxi rides home from the strippers. The sad fact of the matter was, it was all an act. The whole night was a disappointment. Seeing half-naked women dance on a pole was fun when he was 16 and had a fake I.D. At age thirty, it made him feel like a perv. He was just glad he managed to keep his mouth shut about Veronica around Duncan, no matter how much he had to drink.

“Games? What games? I came here to talk and found you still asleep at 8:00 a.m., so I waited. I figured you would be up jogging or weight lifting or doing something to keep those nice abs in shape.” She moved closer to him, her face hovering near his. “Not my problem that you thought I was your beloved.”

Scrunching his face, he winced in emotional agony. “Shut up, Lil.”

With a giggle, Lilly flopped onto her back next to him. “Would it help if I told you I’m here for a good reason?”

“Enlighten me. What good reason do you have to be here?”

“I’m here to tell you that you still have a chance with Veronica.”

Rolling towards Lilly, Logan ignored the wave of nausea bubbling in his belly, and he raised himself up on his elbow to look over at her, sprawled comfortably on top of his pristine white duvet.

“What do you mean?”

As she licked her bright cherry red lips, a mischievous grin formed, and her eyes twinkled. “You know, she told me about you when she got back to San Diego after your tryst. She wanted to ask me if I thought she made a mistake leaving you without telling you how to find her.”

“Wait, what?” Logan was sure his heart stopped at Lilly’s words. This must have been a figment of his imagination. She couldn’t be real and be saying these things about the woman her brother was about to marry.

“Oh, yes. We talked about you when she got home from New York but she would never divulge your name. I never thought _her_ amazing two-night-stand from a trendy bar in New York was the same as _my_ sometimes-lover hiding his writing hole in the Bronx. She didn’t really describe you or talk about what you _did_ , so much as how you made her _feel_ if you get what I mean. But that’s Veronica—she wouldn’t talk about the sex. The girl has all kinds of hang-ups that I obviously can’t relate to.” Lilly shrugged. “I had her convinced that she needed to go back and track you down, but then, her dad was shot a week later. By the time I hopped a plane from Italy to see her at the hospital, she was convinced that God was somehow punishing her for her sexual depravity with you, and she swore she would never think about it again.”

“Nothing _depraved_ went on that weekend, Lil.”

“Yeah, well, what you and I consider _depraved_ , and what my good little God-fearing, naive best friend feels is depraved are completely different things. She once told me the nuns told them if they masturbated that their hand would fall off. And she believed it until she was in her twenties!” Lilly rolled her eyes. “I mean, she finally admitted that she had never even had a real orgasm with a man until that weekend with you. But that was just last night on the car ride home.”

Logan fought the grin that threatened to pull across his face as pride swelled in his chest. “Is it okay to be horrified and elated by that news?”

“Absolutely. That girl deserves multiple orgasms, and often, after suffering with my brother and my family for all these years. Veronica is literally the kindest, warmest person I’ve ever met, Lo. But she also has balls of pure steel. I mean, she goes into prisons and works with death row inmates. She’s visited refugee camps at the border. And she does it without bragging or posting it on Instagram or whatever. She’s beautiful and smart and the best person you will ever meet. Which is why she doesn’t deserve my brother.”

“But she deserves me?” Logan chuckled. “Because frankly, I’m feeling a bit inferior writing my stupid little plays over here.”

“Logan, you have always had a good heart.” Lilly’s palm rested on Logan’s cheek, and she sighed. “But for so many reasons, you’ve decided to live your life in this guarded way.” She took a sharp breath and continued to dish out her truth. “Veronica told me how you told her you loved her when you thought she was asleep. Maybe if you had opened yourself up and told her to her face, you would have had a chance that night to make things work out. But you chickened out. And now, you have the opportunity to fix it before it’s too late.”

Logan flopped onto his back again, closing his eyes for a moment as he let her words sink in.

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_Logan couldn’t sleep. As he lay next to Veronica, his arms wrapped gently around her naked body underneath the blankets, his brain continued to hum long after she had fallen asleep. She would be leaving tomorrow morning to go back to wherever she came from, but before then, there was something he needed to say. Something he needed to get off his chest. So, while she quietly lay in his arms, he began to speak softly to her._

_“I know that we have to say goodbye tomorrow, but something in me just can’t. This weekend with you, Veronica, has been the best weekend of my life. Truly. You unlocked something inside of me that I had forgotten was there. Hope. Up until this point, I didn’t realize that I was just walking through my life, day to day, just trying to make it through. But you_ _—_ _with your laughter and your wit and your beautiful, big heart_ _—_ _made me realize that it isn’t enough just to exist, that I want to thrive. I want to dream and hope and live, and I want to do it with you. Because as strange as it may sound, I love you, Veronica. I have fallen deliriously in love with you. Before you, I could never imagine myself with anyone, but now I can. I can imagine myself with you for the rest of my life. And I know it’s not what you planned when you agreed to stay the weekend in my bed, and I know it probably will not fit into whatever life you have, from wherever you came from, but if you could let me into your life, and allow me to love you, I feel like I would need nothing else from now until the day I die.”_

_Closing his eyes, Logan rolled away from her, trying to keep his emotions at bay. Exhausted, he finally drifted to sleep._

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“Last night, when she told me _you_ were her mysterious New York fling, I knew right then and there that fate had brought you back together,” Lilly continued, and he opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling as she spoke. “The reason why you’re such an amazing lover, Logan, is because of that big heart of yours. You genuinely care, on some level, about the woman you’re with, even if it’s only for the night. But even you must have sensed there was something different about Veronica — she told me it was your idea to have her stay the entire weekend. And you opened yourself up completely, which is beautiful and poetic and completely, well, _you._ Now we just have to get Veronica to see it that way too.”

“How, Lilly? I won’t manipulate her, and I won’t try and come between her and Duncan.”

“Of course, you won’t! She’s too smart for that anyway.” Lilly arched her eyebrow conspiratorially. “But if you happen to give me a lift to the dress fitting at her house today after we go out for brunch…?”

At the mention of food, Logan’s traitorous stomach flipped and rolled, letting out an audible groan, and Lilly laughed.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” With that, she hopped off the bed and smoothed down her black sheath dress. “Take a quick shower. I’m going to visit with your mom and pour myself a coffee. Be downstairs in ten minutes. We have to eat and be at Veronica’s house for 10 a.m.”

Rising up on his elbows, Logan shook his head. “There’s no arguing with you, is there?”

“Nope. Not at all.” She pulled open the door and stepped out, then turned back to face him, hugging the edge of the door as she threw one last grin at him. “By the way, whatever fitness thing you are doing… I’m loving all the new rippley muscles. Keep it up.”

Logan glanced down at his naked chest, then back at Lilly and frowned. She only giggled and spun out into the hall, pulling the door closed behind her. A critic once said of his almost-Tony-award-winning-play that the female protagonist was too over the top to be believable. He had obviously not met her inspiration, Lilly Kane.

Tossing off the blankets, Logan rose, stretching his arms over his head. With Lilly now involved in his love life, he knew he was in for a ride. 

\--------------------------------------------------

At 10:05, Logan pulled his mother’s Jaguar up to the Mars residence again, this time with Lilly next to him. The smirk on her face made her ulterior motives clear; Logan could see that she was a little too happy to be there with him. Wordlessly, she jumped out of the car and skipped down the walkway, leaving him to follow after her. By the time he caught up, Keith was already opening the door.

“Hello, Lilly! The advance team is already upstairs.”

“Thanks, Sheriff Mars. Would you mind tipping my chauffeur for me?” She leaned over and kissed Keith on the cheek before sweeping around his wheelchair and heading up the steps, presumably towards Veronica’s room.

For a second, Keith frowned in confusion before chuckling at the sight of Logan. “Guess you’re her chauffeur now?”

Logan shrugged. “Apparently, none of the Kane cars are as nice as having me at her beck and call.”

“Sounds about right. The more things change…” Keith wheeled his chair back, giving Logan room to come into the house.

“…the more Lilly stays the same,” Logan countered, and Keith laughed.

“Come and catch up with me, son. The women will be upstairs for a while. You might as well get comfortable.”

Logan glanced into the living room. A couple of the dining room chairs he saw in the other room yesterday were now in this room, facing the television. Two old TV tray tables were set up near them, and Logan wondered if this was how Veronica watched television with her father. He conjured the image of them both enjoying their dinners while talking and watching the news, like something out of an old TV show. It was comforting to think of them this way, sharing some happiness together.

“Thank you, Keith.”

Choosing an old oak chair, Logan sat and crossed his leg over his knee, trying to get comfortable. Keith wheeled up to him and smiled.

“I used to have an easy chair that Veronica used to help me get in and out of, but she hurt her back a few weeks ago, and I told her to just get rid of it. My wheelchair is fine. And she insisted on getting rid of the couch to make room for all of the exercise equipment, so it’s not so much a living room as an _existing room.”_ Keith chuckled at himself.

“It looks like it serves a good purpose—keeping you fit and healthy.”

“I wish it wasn’t here, but it is what it is.” Keith pursed his lips and nodded. “And speaking of which, I was wondering if you could fill me in on why _you_ are here, Logan?”

Logan’s mouth went dry. His stomach tightened as if he was suddenly swept back in time, and Sheriff Mars was pulling him over while he was stoned and driving down the highway at breakneck speed.

“Well, the engagement party and the wedding planning…”

Keith shook his head, lifting a shaky finger towards him. “Look here, son. My legs may not work, but my mind is still sharp. I saw the look you gave my daughter when you showed up yesterday —as if you had just come face to face with an actual angel on this earth. And then, the necklace she told me she lost on a work trip to New York last year just magically appeared around her neck again.” He dropped his hand and squared his shoulders as he stared at Logan. “Now Logan, I’m going to ask you…how do you know my daughter?”

A cold sweat burst from Logan’s pores. This was not what he expected when he agreed to come with Lilly. Interrogation was not in his plans for the day.

“I met her in New York.” Logan swallowed hard, trying to gather his nerve. After all, he wasn’t a boy; he was a thirty-year-old man. What was there to be afraid of? “I returned the necklace to her yesterday.”

“So, where has it been all this time?”

Logan righted himself, staring Keith straight in the eye. “On a dresser in my home.”

“Ah.” Keith leaned back, a slow grin spreading across his face. “So, you’re _the one_.”

“Excuse me?”

“When I retired, I started making plans to move to San Diego to be closer to Veronica—to make up for lost time. The day before I was shot, Veronica asked me how I felt about moving to New York instead.” He spoke slowly as if giving Logan time to absorb what he was saying. “I said it didn’t matter to me where we lived, that it was about reconnecting with her again, but wondered why my very practical daughter was now talking about New York? And that’s when she confided that she met someone when she was away and was considering reconnecting with them in a significant way.” Keith sighed, shaking his head. “But then I was shot. And when I woke up, Veronica and _Duncan_ were sitting by my bed. Well, it wasn’t long until she told me she had taken that cheating good-for-nothing man back. But who am I to say what’s good and not good for her. She’s an adult, capable of her own decisions.”

Logan’s bones rattled inside him, so shaken by what Keith was telling him that he was paralyzed by the weight of it all.

“Now, I have to admit something else to you, Logan, and I hope you understand.” Keith’s eyes dropped away from Logan’s stare, as if ashamed. “I’ve been keeping tabs 'on you for a very long time now.”

“What?” Logan jerked his head back, incredulously. “Why?”

“When you’re a cop, there are some cases that just stick with you,” Keith murmured, barely above a whisper. “You are one of those cases, Logan. The report I took from you after Aaron….” Keith finally looked up at him, and Logan noticed the sadness in his eyes. “And then having to defend my report in court after that maniac dragged your mother through that long and agonizing divorce. How your privacy was violated by your mother’s attorneys by leaking the pictures to the press. That’s why I was always after you, when you were younger, to keep on the straight and narrow. And that’s why I used to call in favours with my buddies at the NYPD to check to make sure you were keeping on that right path in New York.”

This was it. Logan was sure his brain was about to liquify and start leaking from his ears. This was all too much information to comprehend.

“I cared about you, son, when I thought no one else would.” Keith sighed. “And I care about you now.”

Pushing back the chair, Logan rose and crossed the room, walking away from Keith. His hands ran through his hair, clenching into fists as he processed everything Keith was saying.

Keith swung his chair around to face Logan. “I’m sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have said anything…”

“No. I mean, yes, you should have.” Logan swallowed hard, trying to keep his emotions at bay. “I’m just trying to comprehend how a stranger could care more about me than my own family. That’s all.”

“I was thinking about it last night, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I may have been projecting a bit of my love for Veronica on you when you were a young man,” Keith stated with a heavy sigh. “You see, I made a mistake with her—I thought that setting up her and her mother in San Diego, after the divorce, would protect her from both the abject wealth and the crushing poverty in this town. But I didn’t know how her mother would behave after we separated. How the revolving door of men in and out of Veronica’s life would twist her view about love and fidelity. How the nuns at the school would place this deep sense of moral justice in her, but also set her up to believe that she was unworthy of so much. There was so much I missed in her life. Helping and guiding her, protecting her when she was growing up—I think I projected that on you. I couldn’t do it for my own daughter, but I could do it for you.”

Squeezing his eyes shut, Logan rubbed his face with his palms, letting out a long breath. What was there to say? What could he say? Finding out that his past was inexplicably linked to the woman he loved, through her father, was like some fantastical story he might write. But here it was, in his real life, being laid out for him now.

The quick clicking of heels on the steps made him look up as a voice carried downstairs. “Dad, please help explain to Lilly that cleavage is not a _church_ thing!”

As he opened his eyes, Veronica appeared in the hallway at the bottom of the stairs, and he gasped at the sight. In her hands, she gripped the full skirt of her simple silk wedding dress, keeping the pinned hem up off the floor. Her hair was up in a messy bun on the top of her head, and the straps of the dress came around the back of her neck. The deep V of the front had tiny pink pins that closed it to just below where her necklace fell on her chest.

When she realized Logan was there, she jumped a bit, looking startled. Silence spread through the space, broken only by Lilly’s heels coming down the stairs.

“I’m just saying a little lower would be fine!” Lilly came to a halt on the bottom steps and glanced over at Logan, smirking. “Ask Logan. He lives in New York. He knows fashion.”

Veronica’s breath hitched as her skin flushed, pulling her gaze away from him and down to her father. “I…I didn’t know you had company.”

“Logan drove Lilly here,” Keith explained. “We were just catching up on old times while he waited for her.”

“Oh,” she said, stealing a glance back at him but keeping her attention still on her father. “I see.”

Logan’s heart beat loudly in his ears. Veronica, in her dress, was beyond compare, and his stomach turned as he wished it was him she was marrying, and not Duncan. As she turned slightly, he realized the back of the dress plunged to a series of tiny buttons, and he allowed himself the indulgent thought of what it would be like to carefully unbutton each, on their wedding night.

“Veronica, you’ll be wearing that lace overlay for the ceremony at the church anyway,” Lilly continued, glancing down at her own ample cleavage in her low-cut burgundy dress. “And so will I. But for the pictures and the reception, you want a little, pizzazz.”

“Personally, as the father, I would go with the whole feeling of, _let’s cover it up_.” Keith chuckled and reached out his hand. Veronica took it, continuing to frown. “But it’s whatever you feel comfortable with.”

Lilly let out a sigh of exasperation. “Okay. Dads officially don’t count in the vote anymore. Logan? What do you think?”

All eyes turned to him, and Logan suddenly felt the pressure of the spotlight being pointed right at him. Taking a moment, he stepped forward and gathered himself to speak.

“I think you look beautiful in that dress, no matter what. Do what you feel is comfortable…” He opened his mouth to continue speaking but was hit by silence.

What he wanted to say was if she was his fiancee, the dress wouldn’t matter. He wanted to say that she was making a mistake getting married in the first place. He really wanted to drop to his knees and beg her to run off with him. But he couldn’t.

“…Duncan is a very fortunate man.”

The words fell from his lips like glass, wounding him as they passed over his tongue. At the end of the day, he still had his honour, still had his pride. He wasn’t going to be the lothario who came and seduced another man’s fiancee. Wouldn’t sweep in, making grand gestures, tied to his own selfish needs.

He wouldn’t be his father.

Veronica nodded, dropping her father’s hand. The look in her eye was devastating, as if he had wounded her. Stepping back towards Lilly, she hastily retreated back up the stairs, leaving Lilly to toss him an unmistakable scowl before following.

Keith cleared his throat, and the door upstairs slammed, reverberating through the house before silence.

“You could have told her how you feel, son.”

“How do you know how I feel?” Logan snapped, unable to control the feeling of self-loathing bubbling inside himself.

“I know a man in love when I see it,” Keith stated, his tone tinged with sympathy. “But I also suspect, just by the fact that you have yet to truly confirm your feelings for my daughter, that you may be the kind of man that has too much honour to interfere with another person’s life.”

Emotion caught in Logan’s throat, and he choked back the overwhelming urge to break down in tears at the thought of what he might be losing.

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_“Stay.”_

_Veronica paused, her blouse half-way done up and frowned at Logan as he lay in bed._

_“Stay?”_

_“Stay the weekend. We can do more of this…” he patted the pillow she had just vacated and grinned. “Maybe watch a movie. Talk?”_

_“Talk?” She smirked. “Is that really what you do during a one-night-stand?”_

_“You do if you want to make it a two-night stand.”_

_Dropping her hands to her hips, she narrowed her eyes at him, as if figuring out if he was serious or not._

_“What if I don’t want you to know more about me?” she started, hesitating as she spoke. “What if I don’t want the commitment? The pressure of more?”_

_“Then I won’t ask. No commitment past this weekend. No expectations for more. You can give me as much or as little information as you want about yourself. You don’t even have to give me your name or where you’re really from.” He licked his lips, spreading his arms out across the pillows in the hope that the sight of him half-naked and ready for more was reason enough to stay. “I just thought you may want to enjoy yourself a bit more before you left the city. That’s all.”_

_“Are you saying you’re more exciting than riding to the top of the Empire State Building? Because that was my plan for today.”_

_Her eyes lit up with mischief, and he grinned, knowing he had convinced her._

_“You know I’m more exciting. I think I proved that last night.” He patted the pillow again. “Now, come back to bed so I can remind you.”_

_Arching her eyebrow at him, she chuckled, slowly sashaying back towards the bed as she released the buttons on her blouse once more._

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“It’s not my place,” he whispered, his eyes drifting up towards the top of the staircase where she disappeared. “I made her a promise that I wouldn’t ask for more. And I’m a man of my word.”

“Of course you are.” Keith shook his head and sighed. “And I’m both proud of that and upset by it as well.”

That was the final straw. Logan needed to leave. Walking through the room, he grazed past Keith’s wheelchair on his way to the door.

“I’m sorry, I have to go,” he muttered as he reached the door. “I’ll text Lilly to tell her she needs to take a taxi home.”

“Logan, wait….” Keith said, but Logan didn’t hear the rest as he quickly pulled open the front door and escaped.

Anxiety gripped his chest as he jogged towards the car. Between the trigger of his childhood memories and the sight of Veronica, he was ready to get in the car and drive all the way back to the Bronx. For good.


	7. Chapter 7

At midnight, Logan checked himself into the Neptune Grand, unable to sleep in his mother’s home one minute longer. Although sleep would have been a blessing. His brain would not turn off as he obsessed about his life, and his mother offering him a valium or a drink or both was not helping matters. Instead of continuing to mentally torture himself, he bolted; left his mother a note regarding his whereabouts, asking her to give him some peace and space to write. 

In the stillness of the unfamiliar penthouse, he immediately set up a laptop on a café table facing the balcony and began to write. When his cell phone went off at 9:00 a.m with a text from Lilly asking, “Where are you?” he turned it off and tossed it in a drawer, ordered two carafes of coffee and a huge breakfast, then went back to work. Around dinner, his fingers began to cramp, and he ordered another big meal, consuming it in front of the TV and promptly falling asleep sometime during the second Die Hard movie. He stumbled off the couch around midnight and showered, only to get back to writing immediately after.

By 5:00 a.m. the next day, his brain was done. Every thought in his head was now on paper. Every emotion, every triggering moment, every ounce of what he could not express to anyone, was there, laid bare on the pages in front of him. The torture of loving someone he couldn’t be with—the agony of the father that didn’t truly love him. The loneliness of his existence, drifting from one anonymous woman to another. He crossed the line between reality and fiction. And as he sat and looked at the words on his screen, he realized that the only thing missing was an ending.

The overwhelming urge for a cigarette gripped him. He used to smoke in college, joining in with the rest of the writers and actors because they did. And considering it had been years since he craved one, today, he figured he would indulge.

Quickly changing into jeans, a sweater, and his wool coat, he made his way out into the street. It was still dark, and his instincts pushed him to walk in the direction of the beach. While Neptune had changed on the outside over the last ten years, the streets still had a way of all leading back to the sand. He managed to find a little corner shop on his way and picked up a pack of Dunhills, a lighter, and a strong black coffee as he continued towards the beach. 

The path was quiet as he approached. Only the occasional jogger, and by the time he picked a bench, far enough away from the water that he wouldn’t freeze from the breeze, and close enough that he could still hear the sound of the lapping waves, the first golden streams of light from morning sun were starting to reflect off the rippling water.

Lighting the cigarette, he closed his eyes and inhaled. The burning sensation on his throat and lungs was a strange comfort, taking him back to a time when everything seemed so much easier. He had escaped Neptune, determined to leave his old life behind. What he found was a chance to be himself, with no pretense. He was accepted on his merit as a writer, and he honed that craft. And when the money his mother set up for him in trust—part of her settlement from Aaron—came to him on his twenty-first birthday, he moved out of the dorms and into his own place, with Wallace, making sure to invest it wisely so he could support himself as he worked on his writing. 

Now, everything was off balance. Coming home, he had learned so much more than he’d bargained for. Unlocked too many memories. And then, in the middle of it all, there was Veronica. His plane left the next day and he still hadn’t decided what he was going to do.

Taking another drag of his cigarette, he exhaled the smoke slowly, watching it swirl above his head. If he was the kind of person who believed in God, he would ask the universe for a sign to show him what to do. But he wasn’t, so all he could do was sip his coffee and smoke his cigarette, and watch the sunrise in silence. The dazzling display of pink and gold danced on the water, punctuated by the teal of the morning sky. It made him long for the beautiful Bronx winter sunrise when the light caught the hoarfrost on the barren trees creating an ethereal show along the streets. And just like that, he was suddenly homesick for his real home back East. 

As he lit his second smoke, a soft voice came from behind him.

“Logan?”

Turning on the bench, he looked over to see Veronica, standing behind him, in tights and runners, a puffy black jacket keeping her warm. Her skin glistened, and he realized she must have been jogging on the path.

Quickly tossing his cigarette in the sand, he stood to face her. “Hey. I didn’t know you jogged.”

Her eyes were wide as if still shocked to see him. “I…I didn’t know you smoked.”

“I normally don’t.” He stuffed the pack of cigarettes in his pocket. “But, I gave in to a craving.”

“Huh. Well, I normally jog in my neighborhood, but I decided on a different route today.” She glanced past him towards the water. “I wanted to see the sunrise on the water.”

Logan gestured towards the bench. “I was just admiring it too. Would you like to join me?”

With a small nod, Veronica walked around the bench, choosing to sit on the other end, as far away from him as possible. As he lowered himself again, he let out a deep sigh.

“You know, Lilly’s been looking for you,” she said, her eyes fixed on the ocean in front of them. “She’s pretty pissed off that you won’t return her calls.”

Logan chuckled as he raised his coffee cup to his lips. “I bet she is. I was writing. Didn’t want to be disturbed.”

“Oh,” she said, looking over at him. “Your mother told her you just needed to be alone.”

“Well,” he said, finally connecting with her soft blue eyes. “That too.”

For a moment, they let the sound of the waves and the morning seagulls fill the silence between them.

“My father explained to me how he knew you,” she started hesitantly. “About how he tried to look out for you over the years when you were growing up.”

“Oh.” It was the best reply he could manage, knowing his past was now laid out for Veronica, whether he wanted it to be or not.

“We talked a lot over the last day, or so…it’s been good for us. Some things needed to be said —things I needed to tell him about my life growing up—and things I needed to hear about why he was absent for so much of it.”

“I hope it brought you both some peace. Your father loves you a lot. I think he also regrets a lot as well.”

“He does. And I do too. I have a lot of regrets, Logan…” she murmured, her gaze dropping towards the sandy ground as her voice trailed off. “I’m sorry.”

“For what? What do you have to be sorry for, Veronica?”

“I’m sorry...for everything.” Following her gaze, Logan realized tears were hovering on her lashes.

Sliding closer to her, Logan took her cold hands in his, but she still wouldn’t meet his gaze. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Veronica. Nothing.” Logan took a shaky breath, feeling the warmth of his body start to transfer to hers. “We were both there that weekend, both consented to draw things out longer. I just wish…” He paused, trying to gather more nerve. “I just wish I didn’t scare you off like I did. I wish I dared to have asked you on a date and not just take you home to my bed. I wish I had the opportunity to get to know you better, to form a foundation that could have set us up to be together.” 

Her bottom lip quivered as she looked up at him, tears freely rolling down her cold red cheeks. “And I wish I had stayed in New York longer. But I also wish I came back to you. Because Logan, all I’ve been thinking about since the last time I saw you is how much I wish I could go back and change everything I’ve done over the past year so that I could be with you.”

Logan’s hand clasped her moist cheek, his thumb grazing her skin to wipe away her tears. He wanted to cry with her, thinking of the time they had lost together.

“We can still have that,” he whispered. “We can still be together.”

She gasped, and a fresh round of tears fell from her eyes. “No. We can’t.”

“Why not? Why can’t we be together? Just tell Duncan the truth—that you care about someone else. After that, we can make it work.”

“But…I owe him…I owe him so much…” Veronica murmured. “All the money he gave my family when my father was sick. All he pays for now. How he supported me when my father was in the hospital and when I quit my job and I…” 

“Veronica! You owe him nothing. He offered, and you accepted, but that doesn’t mean you owe that cheating son-of-a-bitch your _life_. And the fact that he has made you feel like you do says more about him than it does about you.”

Her whole body shook as a sob took hold of her and Logan pulled her close, enveloping her in his arms.

“I wanted to come back to you,” she sobbed into his coat. “I wanted to come back so badly. But I couldn’t leave my father in that hospital bed, possibly to die. I couldn’t leave the only family I have. Don’t you see? I just couldn’t do it to follow a feeling that I wasn’t sure was real or just my imagination.”

Logan stroked her hair, blinking back his own tears as he held her tightly. “It was real. It was all real, Veronica. I can barely believe it myself, but what I felt for you that weekend was like nothing I had ever felt before, and haven’t felt since for anyone but you.”

Pulling away ever so slightly, she focused her tear-stained gaze on him but remained wrapped in his arms.

“I ran away because that night, you expressed to me how you were feeling, but I was feeling that way too. And I was scared. I was so scared, Logan, because I’ve never truly been in love before.” Veronica swallowed her sob. “And I just couldn’t believe that it could happen that way. That I could find a person who seemed to just _know me_ without knowing anything about me at all. But since the moment I saw you at the party, my heart has been telling me that I made a mistake in leaving. And I tried to fight it, but I can’t anymore.” She cupped his bearded cheeks with her palms, keeping her eyes fixed on his. “Because when Lilly said that she couldn’t find you, something in me died, thinking that I had lost you again.”

Lowering his head, he pressed his forehead to hers, closing his eyes and just savouring the feel of her skin against his. Her crying subsided to a rattle in her breath.

“You didn’t lose me. I’m right here, just waiting, trying to figure out what to do.”

He shifted her to the crook of his arm, pulling her close as he looked out over the water. The sun was now fully up, and surfers, in their wet suits, were starting to appear on the beach. He remembered those days, with Duncan and his friends, when they were Dawn Patrol, trying to catch some waves before school. It all seemed like someone else’s life now. But it wasn’t.

“I swore to myself that I wouldn’t come between you and Duncan,” he whispered. “It’s up to you to choose, Veronica. You know how I feel. And now I know how _you_ feel. The choices now are all up to you. You can choose to continue your life with him. You can choose to find out what life could be like with me. Or you can choose neither one of us, and live your life how you see fit. All I want, Veronica, is for you to be happy. That’s all.”

Veronica slipped her fingers between the buttons of his coat, coming to rest on his sweatshirt right over his heart. They stayed like this, watching the water, comfortably together in their thoughts.

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_Veronica lay naked on top of him, her head pressed to his heart, and he watched the top of her head rise and fall as he breathed._

_“You have a very strong heartbeat.”_

_“So, you’re a cardiologist?”_

_“No,” she giggled, lifting her head to look at him, her palm now covering his heart as she rested her chin on the back of her hand. “Good guess, though.”_

_“You already told me you’re a professional somethingorother.” He drummed his fingers on her back, and she giggled again. “But that was easy to tell from our discussion about literature back at the bar.”_

_“Huh. You think so?”_

_“Yes, I think so.” Logan’s fingertips ghosted up her side, and she laughed and wiggled on top of him as he gently tickled her._

_"What else do you think you know about me?”_

_Licking his lips, he grinned. “I know that you are witty and smart, sexy and seductive. That you probably don’t flirt with men often, but when you do, you mean it. That you’re passionate about whatever it is you do, and you do it very well since you were sent from wherever to a conference in New York.” Sweeping a stray piece of hair from her face, he tucked it behind her ear, and she smiled back at him. “And I know that I’m thrilled you decided to come home with me.”_

_Sliding herself along his body, she planted a gentle kiss on his lips. “I’m happy too.”_

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“This,” Veronica murmured. “This makes me happy.”

Smiling, he kissed her forehead tenderly, letting his lips linger on her skin before retreating. “Good. Then let’s find a way to keep you happy.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Three-weeks later…**

_“So how long are you going to be out there?”_

Logan wandered out onto the balcony of the penthouse suite and switched his phone onto the other ear. “As long as Veronica needs me.”

_“Well, Jackie and I will be in L.A. next week. That Hallmark rom-com I booked starts production, and Jackie got the gig as a make-up artist on it too.”_

“Really showing your range there,” Logan chuckled, taking a seat on the edge of the chaise lounge. “Going from an action movie to a romantic leading man?”

_“I’d say you were jealous, but I know how much you hate the Hollywood system,”_ Wallace stated. _“Of course, you have the money to keep your Broadway integrity.”_

“This is true. And I’m happy for you. Maybe if I’m still here when you get to L.A., I’ll drive up with Veronica, and you guys can meet her.”

_“She’d be willing to leave her dad for that long?”_

“Probably. Right now, the doctors feel he’s not strong enough to potentially move across the country, so we are increasing his time spent with his physical therapist and added on some daytime and evening relief so Veronica can have a break and work on her articles.”

_“So Duncan didn’t hold her to any of the costs like he threatened when she broke up with him?”_

“Oh, he tried.” Logan sighed. “He tried to tell her she owed him, but Lilly sicced Jake on him, and he backed down. Jake reminded him that it was his money, not Duncan’s, and if he decided he wanted to help a member of the community and a friend of Lilly’s, then he was perfectly within his rights to do so.”

_“Wow. The old man took Veronica’s side? Harsh.”_

“Oh, it gets better…” Logan scratched the thick stubble on his neck. He really needed to shave before Veronica showed up, but didn’t want to leave Wallace hanging. “I guess Jake Kane was the reason Veronica’s parents broke up. Her mother had an affair with Jake, and Keith divorced her. That’s why Duncan’s mother was always trying to break them up behind the scenes. And also why Jake was so quick to help when Veronica needed it—there was still a part of him that felt bad for how things ended with him and Lianne, and he wanted to try and make things right with her daughter.”

_“Daammnnnn,”_ Wallace murmured. _“You couldn’t come up with a better plot twist. And you’re a pretty creative writer, my friend.”_

“Right?” Logan laughed. “It all feels like a cross between something from Tennesse Williams and All My Children.”

_“I would pay cash money to see a play like that. Get Susan Lucci on that stage. Preferably in some role that's a vague reference to your mom. I'm sure it would make a killing in previews alone. Maybe it could even be your white-boy ‘Hamilton?’”_

Glancing over at his open computer on the table, Logan snorted. “Yeah. I’ll get right on that. I did start something while I’ve been here, but I don’t know if it’s working. I may need to run through it with you at some point.”

_“I’m here for you, buddy. But you need to remember me in your Tony speech. That’s all I ask.”_

“Well, I’m not going to thank my father, so there should be a two-second opening for Wallace Fennel to be mentioned.”

“ _That’s all I’m saying,”_ Wallace said with a chuckle. _“On another note, how are things progressing with Veronica?”_

Logan couldn’t help the wide grin that spread across his face and the warmth that flowed through his body at the mere mention of her name. “Good. Slow, but good. She feels awkward going out in public with me right now so soon after her break up with Duncan, so we’ve been pretty low key. Lilly took us out on the family yacht for an afternoon to talk and have some privacy. And she’s been coming up to my room for dinner the last few nights to hang out and watch a movie before she needs to get back to her dad.” Logan drops his head, thinking about just the comfort of having her nearby. “It’s been nice.”

_“So you haven’t….”_

“No! No, we agreed that sex is off the table for a bit. We’re trying this in reverse.” Logan snickered. “Having sex, helping her with her father, then learning more about each other.”

Wallace released a heavy sigh just as there was a knock at the door, and Logan rose, keeping the phone to his ear as he made his way across the penthouse.

_“Whatever, man. The bottom line is, are you happy?”_

Pulling open the door, Logan’s heart leapt at the sight of Veronica standing on the other side, holding two boxes of pizza and grinning at him.

“Yeah. I am. Very much so.”

_“Oh, God. She’s there now, isn’t she? I can hear you smiling through the phone.”_

Veronica pouted in silent question, and he gestured for her to come in, stepping back to make room for her and the large pizzas to pass.

“Yes. Yes, she is. I gotta go, Wallace. Thanks for the chat.”

_“Okay. You just go and do you. I’ll text you when we get to L.A.”_

“Sounds good. Talk to you soon.”

Disconnecting the call, Logan turned off his phone and placed it on the side table as he walked over to the bar where Veronica had set the pizzas.

“I figured you didn’t want cheese grease on your papers,” she said as she flipped open the box.

He leaned in and kissed her cheek, watching her skin turn a lovely shade of pink at his touch. “Thanks. I was going to move everything, but Wallace called, and I got distracted.”

“Do they miss you in New York?”

“Wallace misses me. I’m sure Uber misses me. But other than that, everyone else couldn’t give a damn.”

“Well, I would miss you if I was there and you were here.” Opening the second box, she swept her hand over the two piping hot pizzas. “I know it’s not New York style, but it’s Cho’s, and it’s still pretty good.”

“Ah, but Cho’s has sentimental value, which makes it all the more delicious.” 

Grabbing a paper plate from the bag near the first box, Logan handed it to Veronica before finding one for himself.

“What kind of sentimental value?” she asked as she loaded her plate with three pieces of Italian Deli.

“Well, as you can probably tell, my mother is not the kind of mom who cooked,” he began, placing one slice on his plate. Taking a napkin from the bag, he tried to dab off some of the grease pooled on the top of the cheese. “When she had an acting gig, she would fly off to L.A. and leave me with either a nanny or the help. But when she got back, she would always order Cho’s Pizza and sit on the floor of the living room, and we would eat it at the coffee table, and I would tell her all about what she missed.”

“That’s nice.” Veronica sighed. “It sounds like your mom tried her best, considering the circumstances.”

Logan nodded. “She did. She’s by no means perfect, but a therapist once pointed out the fact that she dumped my father at the first sign of abuse spoke volumes about her strength and commitment to me. Maybe that’s why even though she drives me bananas, I generally try and give her the benefit of the doubt.”

Veronica turned and walked to the couch. Sitting, she placed the paper plate on her lap and began to eat. Logan grabbed the two Cokes in the bag and walked over to join her. Pausing, he looked down at the coffee table and placed his plate down. As he turned, he pushed back the white leather chair, making a place for himself on the floor. Veronica smiled at him as he sat on the floor, placing the drinks between them, and he watched as she slowly sank down to the floor, joining him in the little space between the table and the couch.

“Much better,” she murmured and took a bite of her pizza.

“Much,” he replied with a grin.

For a minute, they ate in comfortable silence. As Veronica wiped the grease from her lips with a napkin, she sighed.

“How did your writing go today?”

Logan shrugged. “Okay. I’m still stuck on the ending, but the editing is going well.”

“I can tell…” Veronica jerked her chin in his direction. “You haven’t trimmed your beard today. It’s your _tell_ that you showered, got dressed, and just sat down to write.”

Chucking, Logan scratched his cheek. “Yeah. I have a problem with showering. I tend to zone out and start thinking about my writing, and then I can’t wait to get out and get whatever I thought about onto the paper.”

“Huh. I’ll have to try that.” Veronica smiled.

“If you want, you can shower with me, and I’ll show you how it’s done.” Logan bobbed his eyebrows at her, and she giggled. Just because they weren’t having sex didn’t mean they didn’t flirt shamelessly with each other when she was over. Or by text. Or when she called.

Pursing her lips, Veronica narrowed her gaze as if trying to fend off her smile. “Ooooo. I didn’t know that showers were the secret to good writing. Is there a particular way I have to do it?”

“Well, first, you have to be naked. Standard for all showers.”

“I think I get that part.” She placed her finger on her chin and nodded. “What else?”

“Then, you have to turn the water on super hot. This helps melt the brain cells from their frozen position.”

“Ah, now see, that’s my problem. I’ve been taking a lot of cold showers lately,” she cooed. “Helps with other things. Writing not so much.”

Logan chuckled, scooting closer to her on the floor. “You may want to turn up the heat just a tad. Because the next step is just to stand there and let your mind wander, and we wouldn’t want you to get hypothermia.”

“True. Hypothermia can kill. But I’m still not too sure about the precise temperature.” She shuffled over to him and planted a quick kiss on his lips. “You may need to help me get the water right. Maybe you’re tall enough to reach the showerhead and adjust the stream as well…” She licked her lips as she brought her nose up to his. “…not too hard, not too soft…”

“Just right,” he murmured as his lips met hers, sinking into a soft kiss.

Reaching around her waist, Logan pulled her closer, and she responded by flinging her leg over his waist and taking a seat on his lap, her body pressed to him as they continued to deepen their kiss. 

He had lived with the memory of her gentle lips for a year, and when he finally was able to kiss her again, it was better than he remembered. The subtle taste of her strawberry lip gloss applied over her pink lipstick. The way her eyes fluttered as she savoured him. The gentle hum of contentment in the back of her throat. It was all just a glorious miracle that he was able to experience it again.

As she pulled away from their kiss, her hands came up to cradle his face, her eyes staying fixed on his.

“So, if you want me to stay longer tonight, I’ve arranged for someone else to be home with my dad. In case he needs help.”

“Oh! Does that mean we can do a Cohen brothers’ marathon? Barton Fink and then The Big Lebowski?”

Veronica’s mouth opened, and her tongue touched the edge of her teeth as she drew in a breath.

“I was actually thinking of something else we could do…” She leaned in and kissed him again, and this time, he felt her tongue sweep across his lips, looking for entrance.

When he opened his mouth, she moaned, shifting on his lap to press her pelvis against him. For a split second, he let himself fall into the moment, his hands cupping her ass to hold her close, forgetting that they were supposed to take things slow.

Pulling back, he saw a wide grin spread across her lips, her cheeks tinged with pink. Her eyes had a soft, dreamy quality, and he wanted nothing more than to hold on to her for the rest of the night.

“Lilly said she would stay with my father all night tonight,” Veronica murmured, a full blush now crossing her skin. “If you wanted me to stay…”

For a moment, he was thrown by what she was saying. They had agreed to wait for a while, but was two weeks really a while?

“I thought you wanted to wait to have sex and get to know me better?”

Averting her eyes, she shrugged before looking into his eyes again. “I was thinking… maybe… we could do both?”

He couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face, and he kissed the tip of her nose. “Both, huh?”

“Yes. Both. At the same time.”

Rising from his lap, she stepped away from the coffee table and through the room, towards the doors to the bedroom. Turning, she crossed her arms, cocking her head to one side.

“Ask me something.”

Chuckling, he threw up his hand in her direction. “What’s your favourite colour?”

“Pink,” she stated and pulled her blue sweater over her head, revealing a pink lace bra underneath, her sparkling cross necklace pressed against her skin.

Logan’s mouth went dry at the sight of her in only her bra, tight jeans, and black boots. She put her hands on her hips, letting the soft curls of her hair fall forward over her shoulder.

“Another.”

Summoning his brain to work, he asked. “Favorite ice cream?”

“Pistachio.” Bending at the waist, she unzipped her boots and kicked one and then the other off in front of her, dropping her height by a good three inches. “Or strawberry if they’re all out.”

Grabbing the edge of the couch, Logan pulled himself to stand, hoping to get in on the fun. “Okay. You ask me next.”

Dragging her teeth over her bottom lip, Veronica’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Favorite food?”

“Anything Italian. As long as it doesn’t have shellfish. I’m allergic.”

She nodded as he pulled off his blue henley, baring his naked chest to her. Her eyes lit up like she had been handed a present, and he smirked, dropping the shirt onto the couch.

“Good…to…know,” she drawled.

“What did you want to be when you grew up?”

Lifting her foot behind her back, she pulled one sock off and tossed it to the side. “A ballerina,” she stated, moving on to the other sock. “Or a cop. At one point, I wanted to be both—a ballerina cop.” Rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, she continued. “Greatest accomplishment?”

“Oooohh…tough one…” Logan muttered, his gaze dropping to the top button of his jeans, and he began to unzip himself. “Getting nominated for Best Play is probably it, followed closely by the time someone wrote that I was so talented it made people wonder ‘Aaron Echolls who’?”

“Ah. I like that,” she chimed as his jeans hit the floor.

Standing there, in nothing but his grey boxer briefs, the tension between them in the room crackled with anticipation. It seemed that he had almost forgotten it was his turn to ask her anything as he became captivated by watching her gaze linger on his body.

“Same question. Greatest accomplishment?”

Arching her eyebrow at him, Veronica grasped the top of her jeans, slowly working to open them as she spoke. “Working on the legal team that exonerated an innocent death-row inmate. And actually passing the Bar exam the first time.”

Gripping the edge of her pants, she pushed them down her legs and delicately stepped out of them, leaving them in a pool on the floor. Standing there in only his underwear, seeing in her pink lace lingerie, Logan was very aware of his growing erection, and by the look on her face, she was as well. Raising her hand, she crooked her index finger, silently asking him to come closer, and he obliged, walking around the room until he was in her arms.

Logan’s fingers slipped under her bra strap, holding the clasps as he looked down into her eyes.

“This talk is getting a little too heavy for being naked. Let’s go with something easier…favourite season?” she asked, her fingers hooking along the edge of his underwear.

“Fall. California can’t hold a candle to the beauty of a New York fall.”

As she slowly pushed his boxers down his legs, he savoured the feeling of her skin next to his.

“Mine is Fall too. Just in case you were wondering.” She sighed, and he took it as his cue to release her bra, letting it fall down her arms and landing between them on the floor. Licking her lips, she grinned up at him. “One more question…it’s all yours…”

Logan’s body hummed, every nerve ending on alert, being this close, this naked, next to her. Just being together with her, like this, was more than he had ever hoped for, more than he ever let himself dream. Even though he pined for her, longed for her, he never really truly believed they would find themselves together again. Until now.

“Do you want me to make love to you, Veronica?”

Pushing her panties down, she let them drop to the floor as she pressed her body to his. “Yes, Logan. I do.”

Taking a short breath, he lowered his lips to hers as she rose on her tiptoes to him, his hands clasping her naked bottom as he pulled her up to wrap her legs around his waist. Their first night together, when she kissed him at his front door, it was urgent, frantic. Tonight, it was slow and delicate, her lips teasing his as he walked them to the bedroom, stopping at the edge of the bed to enjoy the gentle sweep of her tongue against his. She held on to him as he lowered them both onto the soft mattress, suspending himself above her as they continued to enjoy the taste of each other. Her hands moved over his body, sending little jolts of electricity through him as she explored the lines and planes of his form.

Tenderly, he began trailing kisses across her cheek, and she arched her back to him as he continued down her neck to her breasts. When his breath passed over her nipple, it hardened for him, enticing him to stop and suck as she gasped and moaned. Veronica’s fingers threaded through his hair, tightening, and he groaned against her sensitive skin. Her body was warm, glowing with the heat of passion and desire, and when he released her nipple from his mouth, she gasped as the moist flesh was exposed to the cool room. Continuing lower, across her abdomen, she began to roll her hips to him, knowing his intended course. And when his fingers spread her wet folds, his tongue sliding through her juices, she bucked and called out his name.

“Logan! Oh, Logan.”

His fingers stroked her entrance as he planted soft kisses on the hood of her clit, sucking gently as his lips made contact. The little doses of pleasure he was providing made her moan and writhe under him. As he slipped his fingers inside of her, the sweet, musky scent of her made him hard, and he increased the friction of his rough tongue against her hard clit, now anxious to make her come.

Veronica's fingers gripped his hair as she moved and moaned, high plaintive calls of desire filling the room as he continued to work her, bestowing on her all the pleasure he could. Her muscles tightened as she panted, and he knew she was close. Pulling back the hood of her clit, he flicked it quickly with the tip of his tongue and within seconds, she fell apart, her orgasm pulsing through her body, her muscles contracting and releasing against him. As her body went limp under him, he kissed her inner thigh, and she giggled, shifting away from him.

“You’re so sensitive now,” he murmured, planting another kiss on her pelvis as he made his way slowly back up her body.

“I am. Your beard is suddenly ticklish.”

Her fingers twined in his hair as he continued to kiss up her body. When he reached her face, he let his lips linger on hers. Slowly rolling onto his side, he took her with him, and they continued to kiss as he pulled her leg over his. Positioning his hips between hers, his cock found her moist lips, and he held himself against her, waiting for permission to go further.

“I can get the condoms,” he said between slow kisses.

“Don’t need to,” she replied, pressing her forehead to his and grinning. “I have an IUD. And I know who your last one-night stand was.”

Veronica wriggled her hips, and his cock slid through her wetness slightly, giving him a better position to connect with her. One thrust was all he would need, but he held himself in check.

“I want you, Logan,” Veronica continued, her hand stroking his beard. “All of you. For as long as you’ll let me stay.”

And in that moment, Logan felt the same thing he had felt a year ago, when, on the second night, they went from two people fucking, to slowly making love through the night. It was as if his breast bone split in two and opened, allowing his heart to look out for the first time and welcome Veronica in. That night, he let her into his heart, and even though she had left, there was part of her that remained trapped with him. 

“I want you to stay, Veronica. I want you to stay forever.” Emotion caught in his throat, causing his words to come out as a whisper. She must have known because the tenderness with which she kissed him nearly made him cry.

“I want that too. I’ve never wanted anything else so much in my life,” she replied, tears now collecting on her eyelashes.

As their lips connected again, Logan thrust against her and they gasped as he slid inside her warm, wet core. For a moment, they held themselves in check, enjoying the feeling of being connected in the most intimate of ways. But slowly, Logan began rolling his hips back and forth as she rocked against him, creating wonderful friction between them. It didn’t take long before they found a rhythm together, moving in unison as waves of pleasure passed through them. There was no hurry, no need to rush, as they let their fingers trail across each other’s skin, still rocking in unison.

It seemed like they could keep their position forever, but as pleasure gripped Logan’s abdomen, he reached between their sticky bodies to find her clit with his middle finger. When he pressed on her hard button of flesh, she moaned and closed her eyes, as if trying to focus all her attention on how he was making her body feel. Her inner muscles tightened around him as he began rubbing her in tiny circles.

Her mewls of excitement filled the room again, and Logan closed his eyes, keeping himself in check until he heard the unmistakable gasp followed by a deep, guttural moan as she came, hard and wet around his cock. As she pulsed, he finally gave in, letting himself fill her with his cum. His body shook as his orgasm gripped him, and he arched, letting out a barbaric call of pleasure before every muscle in his body released.

They were a sweaty tangle of limbs, and as he opened his eyes, Logan found Veronica glistening with happiness, smiling brilliantly at him.

“Hey,” he gasped, trying to catch his breath.

“Hey,” she giggled. “You okay?”

“I don’t know. A year without sex was a long time for me. I may have pulled something.”

Veronica laughed and kissed the tip of his nose, adjusting her arms around him but making no move to try and leave their dishevelled pile.

“Just means we’ll have to get you back in shape. I’m willing to help you train.”

Chuckling, he squeezed her naked body to his, kissing her forehead. “I’m up for whatever you want to do to me.”

Glancing up, she arched her eyebrow at him and grinned mischievously. “Good. Me too.”

**EPILOGUE**

**Three years later…**

“So you’re telling me that no man in your life has ever shown you Easy Rider?”

Scoffing, the sepia-skinned actress pulled her long bare legs up underneath herself on the couch in the middle of the stage and adjusted the oversized NYU t-shirt she was wearing so it draped over her as best it could stretch.

“The man who used to be in my life was more of a Godfather guy than an Easy Rider man,” she replied, cocking her head to one side.

The audience chuckled warmly, and Veronica looked down the aisle, past Logan, to see Wallace and Jackie smiling towards the stage along with the rest.

“Oh, come on. I have problems believing that only one guy has had an influence on your taste in movies. Or music.” The tall, tanned, blond-haired actor clad in nothing but boxers and a t-shirt flopped down on the couch next to her and grabbed a blanket from the sofa, tossing it over her legs.

Logan caught Veronica’s eye and grinned, his hand reaching for hers and he squeezed it tightly, feeling her diamond ring sink gently into his skin. She tossed him a wink and a kiss before fixing her eyes back on the stage, one hand still in his, the other resting on her protruding baby belly under her black velvet dress.

Staring past her, Logan looked over at Keith in his wheelchair sitting next to her, his lips pursed as he nodded slightly, taking in the scene playing out in front of him. Logan warned him there may be things Keith didn’t want to see on stage, but Keith insisted that they were all adults, and he wouldn’t miss the opening of Logan’s new play “About Those Nights” for anything in the world. It may have helped that the actress they selected looked nothing like Veronica, even if the story might be vaguely familiar.

And as he turned back to the stage, Logan sighed, content in knowing that in the end, everyone would live happily ever after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is that. Thanks to MMB for having a birthday and making me come up with this little fic. ;) Thanks as well to everyone who read along and commented this past week. It was a fun little ride.


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